Last One Standing
by LittleWhiteLiesSing
Summary: War over the fate of the humans is being fought by the wolves and dragons. With the dragons demanding the death of all humans Roxas and his pack are left the task of protecting the last human prince, Sora. Yaoi
1. Golden

**~Chapter 1 – Golden~**

Hey everyone! Onto another new story! But I promise this will be the last posted and started 'til one is finished! PROMSIE! But I really wanted to post this! This has been my way of ignoring NaNoWriMo while in Cali for Thanksgiving… So I have a LOT written. I just have to take the time to edit it and such but we're looking at about four chapters in the next week or so if I can get on to post them. I mean, this is being posted from an airport. I'm just going to post when and where I can.

Look forward to a new story!

**Warnings**: Warnings will be shown once. You get them now. Don't complain about me not warning you later. I'm warning you now. Yaoi, blood, war, rape, death of minor characters, non-con, a splash of OOC, torture, hurt, anything under the sun that I can think of and put in here. Seriously, anything. Except for bestiality. There are animals, but none of that.

**Pairings**: Sora x Riku, Axel x Roxas, Cloud x Leon, Zexion x Demyx, anyone else I want or what people want. Maybe even twisting a few around. TBD

* * *

><p><strong>Roxas<strong>

* * *

><p>Leaves crinkled beneath his paws. Here and there a stick cracked when he was careless enough to step on one. This was a safe place. These woods were his and his families. Meat had been hunted earlier and he was still full from the buck his brother had brought down. He was just casually exploring now, making sure his kingdom was safe.<p>

Nearing the edge of the woods he paused in the shadow of a large oak. There it was the human town. It sat in the center clearing of his forest. Not a large clearing, not even a fraction of the size of his kingdom. Yet there were enough humans here for a few packs of their own. Letting out a panting breath he felt his pelt tingle unpleasantly. His fur retracted back under his skin and his legs stretched and bent in awkward ways. Worse of all was how dull each of his senses got. He hated becoming one of the useless humans yet even now, after generations of his packs protection they still weren't used to seeing unnaturally large wolves walking around their homes.

Finding the canvas bag at the base of the tree he found the human clothes he kept there for himself. The humans were respectful enough to make sure he always had fresh clothes when he came to visit but only two of the juveniles actually knew where he kept his human trappings. Even he was still getting used to all of the different humans. He was still young as well, and new to this human world. Slipping into the pants and shirt provided he left his feet bare. He needed to keep some connection to the earth and forest.

Letting out a short yelp to let the town know he was coming he stepped out of the shadows. A few mothers who still didn't know him as well as the rest of his pack guarded their young. The humans who trusted him to be as good as his pack greeted him with waves and smiles. A few of the children younger than even him came up to him with smiles.

"Roxas!" His head snapped up and around to find the female voice that had called out to him. Grinning in the human way with teeth that didn't mean he wanted to attack her, he brushed the children off with promises of play-wrestling later. Now he needed to see his human friends.

"Olette," he called back in greeting. If she hadn't been a human she would've made a fine she-wolf. She had the look of the forest in her, with bark colored hair and leaf green eyes. She even wore a dress the color of autumn oranges. "You're here."

"I heard you call," she said, throwing her arms around his neck. Humans did his in affection, hugging. It was almost nice. He enjoyed the warmth another body brought. "So what are you up to today? Not hunting I suppose," she stated, pulling back to examine him for blood.

He removed himself from her grasp. "No, I'm just here to see how everyone's doing. I haven't been here in almost a…week." It always took a moment or two for him to remember the silly ways humans broke up time.

"But someone from your pack has been here every day or so to check up on us." The voice came from his side. A rounder human with a mess of black hair approached them with a smile. "Hey, Roxas!" He patted Roxas on the shoulder. "So what's the latest news from the far side of the forest? Naminé said you two were going to go check out the bears." Roxas tried not to snarl. He didn't need Pence reminding peaceful, happy Olette of the harsh reality outside of their protected town.

He hated to admit it, hated to even think about it, but there was a war being fought right outside his forest. Generations had gone by with all of the humans and animal kind getting along peacefully. It was just in the past few years of his life that the war had really taken shape. On the one side was his pack. The humans would call his pack the ruling family, kings of sort in their world. They had worked hard protecting the old human kings from the dangers of the forest with some other more peaceful creatures.

The dragons that had all but disappeared from the world of the humans were on the other side of this war. If they hadn't been so high and mighty, separating themselves from everyone else and all intellectual, magic animals of similar kinds, the humans might have remembered they were more than just beasts. Yet when just one fledgling had its scales ripped out those prideful creatures blamed everything on the humans. Yes, it was mostly the fault of the humans but wolves were just as prideful and the pointless slaughter of whole packs of humans was crossing the line. They were under the protection of the wolves which set the wolves and dragons against one another. All other creatures of magic picked their own sides, one of wolf blood from another pack even choosing to follow the winged fools.

"Things across the forest are fine. We've got everything under control," Roxas replied tightly. Panic would only hurt their cause at this point in time. They needed the humans to stay calm. If they knew how badly things were actually going…. Another human royal family had fallen just a few summers ago. The last one under their protection was killed except for a small boy, a young prince who looked to be near Roxas' own number of years if they compared in human bodies. Yet he was still young and soft where Roxas was mature and hard. Life was different for them. Even now Sora still expected someone to bring him food. He was too helpless to kill his own. But many humans were. They lacked teeth or claws that Roxas used for everything.

A joyful yell, sounding almost like Roxas' own yelp of greeting, warned the three of another approaching person. A girl with lighter brown hair and the same green eyes as Olette trotted up to all of them. "Roxas! I didn't know you were coming to town! I would've brought you a snack had I known!" She was another sweet girl. She understood the risk Roxas and his family had but themselves in for the humans and she appreciated it. She always tried to have a snack waiting for him, or some cooked meat for him to chew on. He may dislike the cooked stuff but it was kind of her, none the less.

"Thank you, Selphie, but I don't need food every time I visit."

"None of the rest of your pack complains. They like the food."

He sighed at the slight pout in her tone. That was a reason to find the humans annoying. Wolves, no, any of the animals didn't pout like that. They didn't really act like the humans. They could copy the humans to a degree, pretend to follow the same social rules as them, but they had their own laws. They followed the strongest fighter. Those more dominant ruled over those submissive. If you won a fight you gained respect. If you lost you were pathetic. Of course plenty of wolves tried to re-challenge those they lost against, but the order would be set. One day Roxas' place as the alpha male's cub wouldn't be enough. One day he'd fight to secure his own place; maybe even against one of his own brothers. He'd say his sisters, but strong females couldn't rule a pack. At most his sisters would mate with others they've deemed worthy of having cubs with. He almost felt bad for anyone who wanted to mate with his siblings.

The oldest of the cubs was Cloud. Like all of the siblings, he had blond hair and a pelt of gold so light it seemed white in the harsh glare of the sun. They came from the oldest of the wolves who could wield magic to some degree. Cloud was expected to be the next alpha male of the pack, possibly mate with one of the she-wolves from another pack to make it bigger.

Next were the twins Larxene and Demyx. Younger only by a few winter seasons, they were as different as the moon and sun for all of their similarities. More than just the hair and pelt, they had the same eyes, the color of frozen water and strange hair when they chose to take on the form of humans. Yet Larxene was as cold as the ice in her eyes. Her interactions with the humans were limited as much as possible. She was more likely to rip their throat out as she was to protect them. The only thing that kept Roxas sure she would never leave their pack was the fact that she was fiercely loyal. Demyx was the sun the seemed to radiate from his pelt. He loved the humans and went to play with them every chance he got. He just loved walking around as a human. Demyx was the odd one who would be the omega if he wasn't the cub of the alpha.

Last of the cubs was himself and his own twin. They were as similar as any wolf cubs could be. She was a delicate she-wolf with a lot more bite that bark. Most didn't even know what was coming until she had their throat in his teeth. And yet… she was gone. Pence and the others couldn't know that. Naminé was loved among the humans. Observant Pence would of course notice sooner or later and it wasn't exactly in their nature to lie flat out. But he would for now. He would lie and say that she was just out on another scavenging mission, or doing recon like they used to together. Her capture had been just been recon on the bears who had been attempting to enter their forest. Funny how something so natural and easy could go so wrong.

"They like the food because they're more pig then wolf," Roxas jested thinking of how much his twin liked the snacks. "But I'm more wolf then all of them combined."

The humans laughed. "So scary, Roxas," Olette said, rolling her eyes. "We'll be sure to watch out for you."

"Come on guys," Selphie said giving her human friends a look. "So long as Roxas is around we'll be fine. He'll always protect us."

The blind faith in him was endearing. It made him proud. Yet how did they expect him to protect a whole town? Of course they meant his whole pack but if the dragons came down out of the hills and mountains they made their homes in they'd be in serious trouble. As a rule none of them, no species, could use more magic than it took to communicate with each other mentally so long as they kept their natural form. Yet as humans they could command the magic as its own force. Wolves could at least. And bears. But who knew what dragons could do. As a rule they were the oldest of the magical creatures. By all right his pack should listen to the rulings of the dragons. Yet when they chose to disappear they gave up that right.

"Your trust in me means the world, Selphie," said Roxas as kindly as he could. "I will do everything I can to keep you safe." Her cheeks got red tinges to them and he wondered if he should ask if she was feeling alright, but females of his pack didn't seem to like it when the males asked if they were weak so he kept his mouth shut. Or maybe that was just his sisters.

He stayed there in the human town until the sun began to sink, doing silly human things. Yet when the sun's rays began to hit the tips of the trees he heard a howl calling him home. His father was calling him home and he needed to go. Excusing himself from the humans he wandered back to his oak to strip off his clothes. Pence would gather them up eventually and replace them for his next visit. Until then he needed to answer his father's call.

Slipping back into his four-legged form he trotted through the forest to where his pack was. When the alpha male called all answered. His father, the alpha male, was a huge wolf and a large man. Muscles rippled beneath his golden coat with every small movement. A grin showing each and every one of his sharp teeth left his tongue rolling out of his mouth. He had called for Roxas, but didn't desperately need him. All that meant was Luxord was worried about his youngest cub. He couldn't lose Roxas like he lost Naminé.

Sitting at the base of a large pine tree were two humans and Demyx pretending to be one of them. His brother playfully wrestled with the brown cub, Sora. Of course he had no chance, but Demyx was letting him win to build his confidence like you did with all pups. Watching with a smile was a slightly older female with short black hair. She was his father's latest addition to the pack, a human female who was just as fierce as any wolf. She called herself Yuffie and was slowly becoming a real part of Roxas' life.

It was possible for one of his kind to mate with a human but it wasn't often practiced. Pups from a human would be more man than wolf and would have only enough magic in them to make the change between forms. That was no kind of true wolf. Yet sometimes it happened. Roxas just didn't want to get any more siblings if they were more human than wolf.

Shaking an errant leaf from his coat he presented himself to his father. Hanging his head a bit he made sure to at least look bashful. Going into town was something that was supposed to be only long enough to check in on the villagers and return. Playing with them, getting attached was too _human_. They weren't pack. They weren't even wolfs. For all of the protection they gave the humans they were still meat on two legs. But they had a pact and would hold to it no matter what. Wolves protected humans. That was that.

Luxord growled slightly in disapproval of his day spent but remained lying down. _I'm assuming you've had a good time with them, _he said. It was strange, communicating mentally. Hearing another voice in your head that wasn't your own was hard. Knowing that voice could bend your spirit with a single command was horrible. Not that Luxord's word was absolute, but going against it went against instinct and would result in a fight for dominance later.

_Good time, bad time, it doesn't matter. Some of them are wondering if we can really protect them. _Not completely true, but true enough. Even Roxas wanted to know how well things were going. After Naminé's capture Roxas was kept far away from the boundaries of the forest.

To the west were the bears trying to enter their home. Far larger than wolfs they were a fearsome enemy, but nothing even Roxas couldn't handle. Wolfs were faster and were more nimble than clumsy bears. South was the desert of the hawks and eagles. North were the plains of the lions which left the mountains of the east wide open for the pig-headed, stubborn, demanding dragons to roam free. Regular beasts inhabited all other places except for the mountains of the dragons. Not even mountain goats dared try to live there. Any that did were eaten like wolves ate the forest deer.

_We'll protect them as best as we can. But we're not going to lose any more of our pack for the sake of the humans. _Of course not. But Luxord didn't care about them. Roxas might not find them as meaningful as his own pack, but they were still life. If he was slashed open from tail to snout for them at least he'd have died protecting those his ancestors wanted him to.

Roxas _wuffed_ in noncommittal agreement with his father. Their views varied a bit, but Luxord was the alpha male and his father. Roxas would run and hide with his tail between his legs if his father ordered it. Padding away from him, Roxas went to where the humans were. Yuffie waved at him and even Demyx took a moment to acknowledge his little brother before Sora pounced on him. None of the other wolfs were watching over the humans. Where was Hayner? He was normally in charge of their protection.

Licking Yuffie's hand he rested his head in her lap, nuzzling her hand to make her scratch his head. He wasn't some common dog, but it felt too good to resist. Clawless human hands were good for something.

The sun was nothing more than shadows by the time Demyx called it quits with Sora. The young prince with the brown hair and watery blue eyes always wanted to wrestle with one of the wolves or the orphaned lion that had become part of their pack. Demyx settled down in his natural form to try to get some rest. Yuffie left him to go cuddle for warmth next to Luxord while Sora sprawled out, still hot from the activities. That was when Roxas really began to realize that no one was there. Normally all of his siblings were around at night to protect the pack and their human tag alongs. They might be some of the best hunters at night, but night was when the humans had to sleep. Protecting Sora until he was old enough and strong enough to take his human kingdom back was their first concern. But until he was strong enough and his scared humans came back to support him the bears were ruling his kingdom. So were was Sora's guard?

Standing he sniffed the air. Not a scent of them. At least no recent ones. The earliest were from this morning, probably from about the time Roxas left. Growling low in the back of his throat he drew the attention of everyone in his pack except for his father. Luxord was too busy making sure his tail was draped over Yuffie to keep her warm at night. _What is it Rox?_ Asked Demyx, lifting his head from where it had been resting on his paws.

He snarled at his brother. _Where are the others? What is Cloud doing?_ He probably could guess but he really hoped he was wrong. If anyone was going to try to get Naminé back home he wanted to be a part of it. It was his fault and he'd solve his own problem. Cloud and Larxene didn't need to do this. He would save her.

_He's just having some fun with the bears. Relax, Rox. You might scare Sora with that puppy snarl. _Setting his head back down Demyx went back to ignoring Roxas. Snarling at his lazy brother Roxas padded off, back through the dim forest, back to the human's town. The forest was exceptionally large. If Cloud had really left with Larxene and a few others then they wouldn't even make it to the closest edge where the bears were by the time the sun next rose. Maybe by midday if they kept at a steady trot, so he had at least a few days before he'd find out if they got his twin back.

Circling around the town a few times he made sure most of them were in their own hovels before he settled down beneath his oak. Pence had already replaced the clothes for him but he wouldn't need them. He really just wanted to be near the humans. He wanted to remember why he was so determined to protect them when he knew him and his pack, all of the packs, should be following the dragons in their quest to kill all humans. Dragons used to be the final rulers of his kind. Before them were the phoenixes. After the dragons came the wolves. Since the dragons should have stayed gone Roxas' pack had been the rulers of animals for generations. Hawks and eagles flew for miles at their call. Bears had bowed their heads in deference. Now the dragons were back and many animals wanted to follow them. Who needed the humans anyways?

But humans were good. And the balance of life was working. Sora would one day be a good king if given the chance. If he didn't forget how to live among humans after spending so much time with wolves.

Settled down he let himself drift to sleep. His dreams were full of past hunts and good kills. He could taste the fresh blood dripping down his muzzle and feel the flesh part at the lightest touch from his teeth. It filled his whole body with warmth that only a good kill could. Every bit of him could feel the warmth. It leaked from him to warm even the ground beneath him. Almost like the rays of the sun to wake him… But he didn't feel rested enough. That couldn't be the sun waking him. And the warmth was real as well.

His eyes flew open and he surged to his feet. The whole sky above him was lit by fire. Not the human's small fire to cook meat, but long tongues of fire that seemed to want to reach down and devour the trees he slept under. Feeling his chest rumble he realized he was howling to warn his pack before he ever made the conscious decision to. Humans heard his call as well and he saw candles being lit and people staggering outside, rubbing sleep from their eyes before gasping at the sky. From far away howls and cries of different animals answered him. He could make out his father's commanding tone even from this distance. A familiar roar of a lion told him that wherever his lion friend Wakka was, he had heard the call and was on his way back to the pack. After all of the calls had died down a last roar rumbled through the forest. One of the only bears who had remained loyal to the wolves was on his way to find Roxas. Lexaeus was a ferocious fighter and would help protect Roxas.

In response to all of the calls of the forest a strange roar made the earth roll and the sky shake. It was as a loud as thunder and had the crack of lightning in it. Like lightning, it made his whole pelt stand on end. His claws dug into the earth for support. Never before had he heard such a terrible cry. Never had he been so afraid of just a sound.

Cries of panic and yells of distress got him moving. The humans were scared worse than him. They had no clue what was coming. He at least had an idea and it was more just his wolf instincts that told him to crouch low to the ground with his tail between his legs until the dragon came down to force him into submission. His human mind wanted to do nothing more than protect the people. Racing from his cover of trees he made the shift from wolf to human midstride, not stopping for a second to adjust to the new feeling of two legs. "Get into the forest!" he yelled to anyone he saw. "It won't burn down the trees!" At least he hoped not. If this dragon burnt down the whole forest many animals would lose their homes. The nearest other forest was a few full moons away from here from what Cloud had once told him.

"Roxas!" He spun around towards Olette, not minding his nakedness in front of her one bit. Now was not the time to worry about silly human sensibilities. "Roxas! What's going on?"

"Get into the forest," he said as calmly as he could. "You'll be safer there."

"But what's going on?" Small tears of panic leaked from her eyes. "Roxas, I'm scared."

"I'll protect you," he promised solemnly, "Now get your pack and go hide. I'll find you when it's safe to come back." Watching her run away he sincerely hoped he could keep his promise. How was he, a pup, supposed to protect three packs worth of humans from a dragon? Why was the beast even here? Couldn't it have stayed up in its mountains?

The humans continued to scatter into the forest. Selphie and Pence made it out as well, both running in separate directions. When he went to find them he'd probably need his pack's help so it wouldn't take forever. If he could find them. If they didn't find the dragon first.

_Roxas!_ Lexaeus' deep voice boomed through his head. _Where are you?_ Sending back a mental picture of the village he waited until the bear scrambled into the center of the town where Roxas stood as a human. The brown bear was the biggest creature Roxas had ever seen. Even the few enemy bears he'd caught a glimpse of couldn't compare to Lexaeus' height. And his strength was incredible which made Roxas feel far safer.

"I've never seen a dragon, Lex," Roxas said quietly staring up at the flames that still crossed the sky. "And now I'm afraid to."

_Then run back to your pack. Its fight is with the humans._

"Who I've promised to protect. If the dragon is going to come then I have to do something to stop it."

_Then fight with claws and teeth, not soft human hands._

"I can't. Did you feel it? The dragon's command to submit?" He shivered in the warm night. "No animal can ignore such a command if given directly. Dragon's used to rule for a reason you know."

_I know you're going to die as a human._

"I think you're right." And as much as that thought scared him he wanted to see the beast. What sort of creature could breathe fire? Was it more like a lion or bear in looks? All he knew was that it could fly like an eagle. But such a sound had been tremendous. It was something from something larger than even Lexaeus. And thought his father would disapprove he was willing to fight for the humans. He would die for his silly human friends.

The line of fire in the sky disappeared, blown away by a heavy gust of wind. It tore against Roxas, wiping his hair against his face, making his eyes squint. Lexaeus growled in the back of his throat. Roxas shielded his eyes as best he could. When he gasped at the sight before him the wind knocked it back into his throat and he coughed like he was choking. Dragon was no longer just a vague idea. Dragon was a lizard, larger than ten bears put together with wings more like a bat then eagle. Each brown scale was like the gems humans found so precious. Orange eyes glared down at the two in front of it like Roxas looked at a squirrel. When a new voice entered Roxas' mind he hung his head in deference. It was a deep voice like his father's, yet it held no room to be argued with. _Where are the humans?_

The bear beside him was more animal than Lexaeus. His head was ducked low and swung back and forth. The animal in his was completely willing to do whatever the dragon asked. Roxas felt a moment of pride for remaining as a human and not submitting to the dragon who clearly wanted him to. "They're gone." His voice cracked in fear. Those large orange eyes fell upon him. Clearly the dragon could tell he was more wolf than human, but right now he tried his best to be human. "They've done nothing to you. Please leave them alone."

_Brave dog,_ said the dragon. Roxas would've snarled at the mocking tone had he not been so afraid. To be called a dog, a human _pet,_ was one of the greatest insults. _Tell me where they are and I'll ignore your pack._ When Roxas refused to say anything else the dragon roared again. Mentally Roxas felt as though there was an unrelenting pressure trying to force him back to a wolf. He cried out and fell to his knees but refused to change back. He couldn't ignore the dragon if he was a wolf. The right for dominance would be won before it was ever fought.

A far off rumble had the dragon looking towards the west. Roxas didn't know what it was but the attack on his mind let up. Gasping he looked up in time to see a satisfied look in the dragon's eye before its huge wings unfurled. His legs shook but Roxas forced himself to stand. Lexaeus whimpered a warning at him but Roxas was already running towards the dragon. Whatever had made him forget his desire to find the humans was nothing good. Grabbing onto the hind leg of the dragon he wrapped his arms and legs tightly as he could and held on. As they rose off the ground Roxas tried not to look down. Wolves were _not_ meant to fly. Not. At. All.

Far enough above the forest Roxas was sure he'd die if he fell, the dragon tried to shake him off. Spinning as he flew, rising suddenly only to drop into a dive from the clouds made Roxas hold on all the more. He really didn't want to die just because he was born a wolf instead of an eagle. The dragon tried to burn him off but the flames couldn't directly reach him where he was. Eventually the beast gave up and flew straight back towards its mountains. Small tears of fear made their way into Roxas' eyes. He brushed them away against his arm but that didn't really stop them. The wind was too harsh on his eyes. They kept coming back.

What was he doing? When the dragon got him off he'd kill him for sure. This was not what he'd wanted. Not at all.

* * *

><p>So I'm sorry that was so painfully slow. But I wasn't quite sure how to just dive right in so I took a bit longer to start this off. But things will move far more quickly from here! Expect the next chapter in a few days!<p> 


	2. Control

**~Chapter 2 – Control~**

Yay chapter 2! I'm going to try really hard to post every few days for a bit. Then we'll be looking at once a week or so. Maybe I should set a day a week I always post something… Any ideas on that? Honestly, I just like hearing from people. I like knowing what people think of my stuff. Reviews are good! (Hint hint…)

Anywho, I'm back to naming chapters after the songs I listen to while writing them. Chapter 1 was Golden by Fall Out Boy, this one is Control by Metro Station. And this chapter is a bit shorter than the last. Some will be super short, others really long. It kind of depends. This one was just to kind of fill you in on what happened while Roxas was being stupid.

Now, on with the show!

* * *

><p><strong>Sora<strong>

* * *

><p>Fear had become a constant part of his life. He could barely remember being a child and feeling safe in the castle that had been his home. His mother and father, his brothers… They'd all protected him from everything. The world outside of the castle was a dangerous place. Yet the dangers from outside the castle had destroyed his life anyways.<p>

He could remember the day it all happened. The spring celebration had been going on for four days already. It was the seventh year since his birth and it had been one of the most magical days of his life. Wolves had come to join in the celebration on that day and Sora had gotten his first glimpse of the protectors his father had told him stories about. The largest was a wolf with a pelt the color of the sun shining off of water. It was so white it was gold and his eyes were the warmest brown like the chocolate he was rewarded with if he did well in lessons. But these wolves weren't like the doggies he thought they were. They were huge like the ponies he rode. He remembered wondering if one would let him sit on it.

The wolves that had come to celebrate disappeared into a room for a whole bard's performance before they reemerged. Yet, instead of pelts they were dressed as richly as his father. The large wolf who Sora was told to address as Lord Luxord was a large man who liked to laugh and roll bones with his father.

They'd been enjoying a feast of roast pig, the wolves choosing to eat raw deer, when each of the wolves had suddenly stopped. The growl that came from their throat was the first thing that had really ever scared Sora. It was so inhuman he didn't know what to think. His father had leaned over to ask Lord Luxord what was wrong. Whatever he said had his father up and shouting orders. One of the wolves transformed back to his wolf form right there at the table. A guard threw Sora onto his back. Before Sora could ever register joy at being allowed to ride one of the wolves they were running through the halls. He held on, screaming for the wolf to stop. He was scared.

The wolf navigated them through the halls and around people. He didn't even slow until they were outside the walls of the castle. By then Sora was sobbing. He wanted his mommy. He wanted his daddy. He wanted to know what was going on. This wolf was scary. But when he looked back at the stone castle he was even more scared. Red light shone through all of the windows. Fire leaked from the wooden doors. Wolves ran from the fire, smoke rising from their coats. Above it all a great black winged figure rose from the castle. The stones glowed red hot. Metal melted and ran down the walls like scorching tears. The other wolves caught up with them and together they padded silently back to camp. Only Sora made any noise, sobbing incoherently.

Yet for all of the fear Sora felt at that time it had gone away. At that age he hadn't fully understood what had happened until later. The wolves had taken him in and watched over him. Hayner, a pup around his own age, had announced himself protector of Sora. They weren't human, but they were his family.

But now his family was in danger because of him. This fear was a million times worse.

Hiding with Yuffie behind Luxord he covered his ears and shut his eyes. He was almost eighteen, almost a man, but this made him feel like a child yet again. He couldn't look at the great silver dragon that had crashed its way through the trees to find him. If he did he might start crying. But Luxord was growling at the dragon trying to protect him. He knew they were having some silent communication that only the animals could hear, but it didn't make him feel any safer. Somewhere not too far off another dragon had let out a roar so ferocious Sora had wanted to die right then. That this one hadn't made a single sound just frightened Sora more.

"Luxord?" Yuffie's panicked cry had Sora looking up. "Luxord!" One by one the wolves were crouching near the ground, tails wrapped up under them, ears forward, head down. Even Luxord was whimpering slightly as he submitted to the silent dragon. Yuffie ran to stand between the dragon and Luxord. "Leave us alone!" she yelled bravely. "We don't have anything you want!"

The silver dragon snorted, smoke coming out of its nostrils. Scales of pure silver slid over one another as it lowered its neck to the ground so the man on its back could climb off. Sora hadn't even seen the man, so focused on the terrifying beast in front of him. The man was dressed in dark black leather. With each step he took towards Yuffie the leather moved with him, absolutely soundless. He had hair as red and wild as fire that fell down far past his shoulders. "Move." The word was an arrogant command that lacked all emotion.

"No," said Yuffie planting her feet. "You can't do this. Leave the pack alone."

The man completely ignored her. Walking around her he stopped in front of Sora. Blank green eyes assessed him. "You're the child prince." The question was more of a statement. If he already knew who he was… was Sora going to die? He really didn't want to die just yet. He had great plans! He wanted to bring his family back! He wanted to live…

"Yes," his mouth said, betraying him. The dragon let out a roar that had the red headed man glaring back at it. It was the first emotional display he'd seen yet. Grabbing hold of Sora he hoisted him over his shoulder. Sora kicked and screamed but it didn't do a thing. Yuffie yelled as well, running up to Axel to make him let go of Sora. A flick of Axel's wrist had her flying back into Luxord. All of Sora's protesting dried up. The man wasn't human. He came looking for Sora to probably kill him and fighting would bring that end sooner.

He was going to be killed by a beast like his family had been.

The red head took him back to the dragon and threw him up before climbing up himself. As soon as he was settled behind Sora the dragon took off. Its huge pewter colored wings beat heavily to get them off the ground but once they were in the air it had no trouble flying. Sora was torn between trying to hold on and fearing the dragon too much to touch it any more than he needed to. But if he didn't grasp onto its neck he found himself pressed back into the man behind him. He was fully aware he was small for his age, but he felt even smaller atop the dragon. Having the tall man behind him didn't make him feel safer, just more concerned. What was he going to do with him?


	3. Voices

**~Chapter 3 - Voices~**

Sorry the last one was so short so this is being posted so soon to make up for it! I haven't written anything like this before and it's kind of weird but I like it so far! I hope you all do to! ^_^ But we're going to start getting really into the story now. If it's a Roxas chapter it's more of the story moving along, if it's not then it's filling you in one what was happening in the meantime. I guess that makes this primarily an AkuRoku story with a hint of all of the others. I'm not going to lie though; I just want to start writing smut! . I haven't in so long and it's going to eat me from the inside out. I just miss it! So we get back to the reason I write fanfiction in this chapter. Yay!

Anywho, this was written to Voices by Saosin. I'm definitely listening to more alternative stuff for this story for some reason… Maybe that will change…

Oh, anyways, my actual serious note: I'm going to start killing off characters now. Don't worry, I won't kill off any of the main ones, but I am planning on having a handful die over the next few chapters. So sad. Oh well. Life goes on and so does the story. So don't hate me 'cause I've warned you.

* * *

><p><strong>Roxas<strong>

* * *

><p>Mountains were something Roxas had never felt any desire to see up close. He liked the smell of dirt and leaves. Rocks were just rock. But as the mountains came closer and closer Roxas took a moment to awe at how <em>huge<em> they were. Trees were tall. These were so vast it took his breath away. Or that could have been the wind. Either way, he was impressed. But the mountains had to huge to house such large beasts. He wondered where exactly the dragon called home when they began to rise towards the top of the rocks. Higher and higher they rose. Roxas heard ringing in his ears. The air was so thin. He could barely breathe. Trying for deep breaths he stopped thinking, letting his body just hold on and breathe.

The descent came gradually. Only when he could actually take a breath in without making his lungs feel like they were burning did conscious thought return. The dragon was slowly lowering itself through a gaping hole in the top of one of the mountains. It was a careful decline. As they fell through the hole Roxas could see large thrones of stone forming a circle around where the dragon was landing. Sitting in one of the highest seats was a man with long silver hair. The man's eyes were trained on him capturing every one of Roxas' movements.

As the dragon touch down Roxas jumped off and ran behind the nearest stone chair. Just as he skidded behind it flames exploded around him. Their heat licked at his sides but didn't touch him directly. "You've brought back a visitor just to kill him, Xemnas?" The flames stopped as suddenly as they'd begun. When Roxas gathered up his courage he peaked around the chair. In place of the great brown dragon was a man with dark skin and shocking white hair. Large bat like wings slowly sank back into his body as Roxas watched. The man on the throne tossed down a simple black cloak so the could cover up his nakedness.

"I'd have killed him sooner had he not held on like a parasite." He looked at something on the ground on his far side away from Roxas. "But you haven't had a problem killing the wolf I see."

"I didn't need it anymore." The cold way they spoke, so emotionlessly, sent a shiver up Roxas' spine. Dragons were cruel, heartless creatures. To just kill another magic wielding animal just because they couldn't find a use for it was harsh. What kind of animal would do that to another? At least wolves killed for food or defense, not to prove their superiority. "Riku will return soon."

"I heard his call." Xemnas looked back over at Roxas. Those strange orange eyes froze him in place. "So we have no use for this wolf."

"If we leave two dead wolves lying around Axel might have something to say." The way the man on the throne spoke it was like he really didn't care what this Axel thought, but he had to listen to him. "I would tell you to just make him leave, but since he came here in the first place I am assuming he doesn't recognize you as dominant."

"He's more human that wolf," Xemnas said with a curl of his lip. To be called human was almost as bad as being called a dog. "He chose to stay like that. A real wolf would know their place." Turning away from Roxas he went to sit beside the other man. Roxas watched as the wings exploded from his back again to let him fly up to his seat.

Having left Roxas' direct line of sight Roxas noticed the wolf lying on the ground. In the dim light of the cave its pelt looked light brown. But under the dirt, under the grime of days it was such a familiar color. The small frame lay unmoving, one leg curled awkwardly under itself. As a human he couldn't catch the scent to be sure but… He raced along the outer edge of the chairs. He didn't want to expose himself any more than he had to. He could already hear the low voices of the human dragons commenting on his behavior. When he was as close as he could get from behind the chairs he darted forward, ready to run and hide the second either of the dragons made any move to harm him. Yet they just sat and watched as he knelt down beside the wolf and stroked her pelt. "Namine?" She was cold. Even as a human he could smell death under the stink of days and singed fur. A long strip of fur had been burnt off revealing blistering pink skin. All of her claws had been pulled out, leaving blood to dry between her pads. Tears rolled down his cheeks. No fear was on her face. Her lips were still pulled back in a snarl of defiance.

She had died fighting because he had gotten her captured be those damned bears. His sister, his twin was dead because of him.

He wanted to growl and snarl and attack the dragons who had killed her. He wanted to avenge her and his pack. Yet he was scared. He'd die as quickly as she had if he tried anything right now. But if it wasn't now it might never be. Gathering her up into his arms he rocked her back and forth, whimpering and apologizing for what he'd done.

A gust of wind had him clutching her tighter to him and looking up. A dragon the color of the moon was descending where Xemnas had with Roxas not long ago. Roxas almost feared he'd be stepped on, but as the dragon continued to land it missed the wolves entirely. As its wings folded against itself Roxas gasped. Someone was on the dragon! The man in black leather slid off, red hair wildly falling around his shoulders, revealing one other person astride the dragon. Brown hair that refused to lay flat, small frame… "Sora!"

Sora turned towards him panic etched across his face. "Roxas?" He tried to slide off of the dragon like the man in leather had before him but stumbled as his hit the ground before falling. Pushing himself up he made to move towards Roxas but was held back by a hand grabbing the back of his shirt.

"Hold on there, kid," said the man in leather. Looking up at the men in chairs he jerked his head towards Sora. "This is the only human boy the wolves had. Any humans from the town would have scattered into the forest."

"So this 'Sora' is the last prince?" asked Xemnas looking towards the man with the long silver hair.

"If the wolf spoke true." Roxas looked down at Namine's form. The dragons had done this to her just to find Sora? His father was right, this wasn't worth the life of a human. And yet, Sora was a friend. Would he have given up where Sora was just to save his own life?

"Then we kill the human and be done with it." The flippant way Xemans spoke about killing was disgusting. Life wasn't something to just be thrown out.

At least the man in leather seemed to agree. He _tsked_ at Xemnas' words. "No, we don't kill the peasants. We've agreed. Wolf." Roxas growled as the man turned to look at him over his shoulder. "Is this the boy who stayed with your pack?" Roxas growled louder. If Namine had tried to protect Sora he would too. For her. "Is this the little prince from Hollow Bastion?"

He wouldn't answer. His growl turned into a snarl. Teeth flashed in warning. He wasn't going to do anything for these beasts. The man seemed to understand that. A cruel little smile formed on his face. A pressure against his mind told him to answer the question. With each passing second he refused to answer the pressure got worse. It felt like teeth clamping down around his head. Each time the voice demanded an answer he felt like thunder was rolling around in his mind. He couldn't even think after a while. Clutching his head he howled in pain. He tried clawing at his head but he couldn't dig the source of the pain out.

"Answer me, wolf."

Roxas cringed against the pain he was expecting with the words but none came. His chest heaved and sweat covered his skin. He took as long as he could to try to compose himself but when a gleam entered the man's eyes again Roxas panicked. "No!" he shouted, cringing away, curling against Naminé. "Sora's from town!"

The man gave him a long, hard look, trying to find Roxas' lie. Roxas just hoped any scent of a lie was covered by his fear of the red headed man. "There you have it," he finally said. "The wolf says it's not him. He lives."

"You trust the word of a wolf?" demanded Xemnas.

"If Sephiroth hadn't killed the wolf who told us where to find him we would know for sure. But since she is dead we have just this one to believe." Letting go of Sora he stepped back towards the silver dragon he'd come in on. Placing his hand on the dragon's shoulder he smiled at it. "What say you, Riku? Shall we head back? I'm bored with hunting down lost princes who are probably dead." Lashing its tail the dragon growled towards the two seated men before dropping down closer to the ground so the man in leather could climb up. "Since you killed the wolf I hope you plan on cleaning it up Sephiroth."

"And if we can't kill the others what do we do with them?"

The man in leather looked at Roxas and Sora in turn. "I don't have a wolf in my collection yet. And I suppose a friend will keep him from killing himself." His tone was bland, not caring that he spoke of living creatures like human objects. Roxas wanted to object but the memory of the pain was still too raw. He went to the man, giving Naminé a long last look. He was thrown up onto the dragon's back like he was a stick. Sora followed him up to sit in front of him and the man clambered up last behind him. As soon as he was settled the dragon took off, wings beating hard to get them off the ground.

As the breached the top of the mountains' hole Roxas caught a glimpse of the sun. He had survived the night. Wanting to yelp in happiness he settled for a grin. Tricking dragons, saving Sora, just living… He'd done it. _Naminé…_ he thought sadly. _I'll kill the dragon that did that to you. I promise ._He'd kill them all of he could. But until he got the chance he'd hold on to the victory he felt in that moment.

"So tell me, is this prince really worth dying for?" Roxas jumped. He hadn't expected the man to talk to him. His breath against Roxas' ear made Roxas fully aware that he was pressed right against the man's front. It would be easy to kill him then get to Sora. The man felt him tense and laughed. It rumbled from his chest through Roxas. The sound was almost comforting in its innocence which made Roxas tense like a deer in a wolf's sight. "Relax wolf. This can be our secret for now. You can trust me. But tell me what I can call you. 'Wolf' seems rather impersonal."

Roxas debated his answer for a long time. Survival said he should just tell the man his name but he simply didn't want to. "Figure it out yourself," he snapped. He braced himself for pain but felt the gentle rumble of the man's laugh instead.

"Alright, Roxas." Roxas' stunned silence had him laughing again. But if he thought about it, hadn't Sora called out his name? But no one had said the red head's name. He even knew the name of the dragon, Riku.

"Since you know mine are you going to tell me yours?"

"Figure it out, wolf."

Roxas tried not to growl at the man for the rest of the flight. The man's hands eventually rested on Roxas' hips. The cold night air cause goose bumps to explode across his skin except for where those warm hands held him. The man was exceptionally warm. But weren't dragons creatures of fire? It made sense in a way. He just wished he had some human clothes to cover himself with. Never before had his nakedness as a human bothered him. Now it made him feel vulnerable.

The sun was high in the sky before Roxas saw their final destination. It was on the far side of the mountains, farther away from his forest than he'd ever been before. Plains of just grass stretched for days in every direction. Small figures were scattered among the fields. Roxas wondered if they were humans farming, but that was silly. The dragons wouldn't live so near to humans. Not if they were on a quest to kill them. Settled in the center of the sea of grass and crops was a large stone fortress. Once, seasons ago, Luxord had taken him to see what was left of Sora's family's home. The stones were charred and metal had melted. It had crumbled from something magnificent to a pile of rocks and ashes. This one was far more splendid. White stone made up all of the walls and the metal was still shinny and whole. Riku glided down to gently land among the inner courtyard behind the walls.

The man jumped down from Riku's back before helping the two boys down. Animals in the form of humans were tricking into the courtyard to see who had arrived. "Two humans? Now what are you doing Axel?" Roxas looked around to find where the voice came from. Following Sora's gaping stare he looked up at a man hanging upside-down from the banister of the second level. Long black hair tied back hung down to a few feet from the ground. His arms were crossed across a broad chest and an eye patch covered an eye. Yet as scary as he seemed, or perhaps it was more insane than actually scary, a broad smile lit his face.

"Get down. You're making my neck hurt," replied the red head. Axel. The name suited him in a way.

The man pulled himself back up to free his legs before jumping down. He landed with a _thud_ turning his solid landing into a controlled roll. When he stood he was almost as tall as Axel and dressed in the same black leather. "Ah, not two humans, just one. What's this one here?" he asked looking at Roxas. He tilted his head and stared at Roxas from head to toe. "You've brought a wolf to play with! That's something new." The way he said it made it sound like Roxas was a juicy bone Axel had won. He really didn't like that. "But then why's the human here? A snack for Riku?"

The dragon swung his head around to face the loudmouth man, snorting smoke into his face. Sora paled and looked pleadingly at Axel, begging with his eyes not to be fed to the dragon. "Just shut up Xigbar," growled Axel in a good-natured tone, "and take these two away. Put the wolf in my room and throw the human somewhere near Leon's rooms. He can watch over the boy when he returns."

With everything said Axel walked away from them. All of the human animals who had come out to see his return followed him back into the castle, many chattering away at him. Riku laid down right there, tucking his wings around himself and shutting his eyes. Roxas wanted to ask him why he didn't take a human form as well but for all he knew Riku might be just a regular dragon. He had yet to hear him speak. Maybe Riku was just a rather intelligent pet dragon. Either way, Riku was dangerous.

"Right this way kids," Xigbar said with a flourish gesture. Sora followed him meekly, casting glances back at the dragon slumbering behind them. For a moment Roxas thought about running but his pack was on the other side of the mountains. Until he made a plan he was safest going along with things here. Out of the courtyard and up a staircase they went. Down a hallway and around a corner they finally made their first stop. The halls were lined with flowers and the floor lush with the fur of weak animals. The door in front of Roxas was rather ornate for an animal but Axel was turning out to be rather strange anyways. Or maybe dragons just liked shinny things. "Head on in wolf-boy." Roxas snarled at him but pushed open the gilded doors anyways. Stepping in he gasped at the room. What sort of animal lived like this? Not even the humans he knew slept like this. A large bed, big enough for even Lexaeus as a bear to stretch out, took up a good deal of the room. Shiny sheets draped across it and pillows took up most of the bed.

Shutting the door behind him, Roxas made his way over to the bed. Reaching out he touched it to see how firm it was. When his hand sank into the sheets he pulled it away in a panic. This was no way for an animal to live. The pelt of a tiger rested at the foot of the bed where he stood. Figuring that would be a much better place to rest he let himself relax back into a wolf. For a wolf to hold onto a human form it took magic. It was possible to stay as a human for days if need be, but it was a strain. Doing any more magic on top of that just depleted his stores. And he had no fear of Axel transforming into a dragon in this room. As large as it was, he would still be larger. So long as Roxas wasn't a wolf when Axel was a dragon he should be fine. He could let his guard down a bit. There wouldn't be a fight for dominance.

Curling up into the pelt Roxas let his senses wander. His ears twitched at the sounds coming from different parts of the castle. This whole room had a smell to it that he'd never smelled before; something that made his nose tickle from the inside out. He couldn't smell any familiar scents though. Nothing of the forest, no wolves, no fresh air. _I'll get back there,_ he decided firmly. _I'll kill Sephiroth and take Sora home. I'll kill any of those dragons if they try to stop me. I'll keep my promise to protect the humans._ He didn't know how he'd do it yet. The dragons were so much stronger than him, not to mention bigger. And if he was being honest with himself, he really wanted to live. Being so close to dying had made him realize how foolish he'd been to say he'd die for the humans. He would if he had to but living was something he wanted to continue to do.

His ears perked up at the sound of the door being pushed open again. Strange, he hadn't heard footsteps outside the door. Axel's spicy scent flooded through the room in a new wave. Roxas even sneezed at it. It was more than just a scent now, but a whole feeling of radiant power that flowed from Axel in waves. Even if he was a human there was something so animalistic about him Roxas could feel every one of his instincts telling him to show him respect. He hated those instincts. Refusing to listen to them he shifted back to a human but stayed curled up. It was easier to ignore the power Axel emitted as a human.

"Are you ashamed of being a wolf or do you just prefer being a human?" Axel asked from inside the door. Roxas could feel his eyes on him.

"Neither," he said shortly in reply. Something hit the ground near his face so he peeked out of one eye. Axel's leather shirt was in a crumpled heap. Ignoring it Roxas went back to pretending to try to sleep.

"Why don't you sleep on the bed?"

"It's your bed."

"There's room for both of us."

"It's too soft. What self-respecting animal wants to sleep like a human?"

"An animal that enjoys comfort." Another _plop_ of clothes hitting the floor. Axel's footsteps sounded across the floor until he reached the bed. It squeaked when he settled on it. "Come enjoy comfort with me." It wasn't a request. But Roxas chose to pretend it was.

"I'm fine here. If you mean to sleep I won't wake you." And he wouldn't. He barely got any sleep the night before when Xemnas had landed in the human village. Catching up on sleep now would be a good idea.

"I don't mean to sleep. Get on the bed." His tone was even more steel than before. Snarling Roxas unfurled himself. Stretching out his muscles he glared at the man reclining against the pillows. For a dragon he wasn't bad looking really. He'd probably be as red as his hair if he actually bothered to be the animal he was. Broad shoulders slimmed down to a thin waist hid by the shiny gold sheets. His green eyes watched Roxas with a heated intensity. Everything about Axel was intense. Crawling onto the bed Roxas glared at the man. It was really too soft. He didn't enjoy feeling like he was sinking a bit. "Come up here more."

Trying to stay as far from Axel as he could and still follow orders Roxas curled up along the far edge of the bed. He could hear Axel sigh behind him. "You're a bit of a clueless pup, aren't you?" he said making Roxas snarl but not face him. He was doing what Axel wanted! "You've seen what? Sixteen summers?" Roxas' silence was enough of an answer. He was young. He knew that. Especially among their kind. For all creatures of magic they stopped aging when they hit the prime of their life. From then it could be decades or centuries before the aging started again at a slower pace. Axel could be hundreds of years old and still look the same. To him Roxas really would be just a pup. "Let me be clear then Roxas. What do you know about mating?"

He was young, not stupid. "Find a she-wolf, mate, she has pups." Did Axel want him to mate with someone? If there was a she-wolf that wanted him he'd be willing. But no she-wolf wanted such a young mate.

"I mean human mating."

"Find a she-human, mate, she has a baby." Now he was actually confused. What did Axel expect? Wasn't he old enough to know all of this?

"You're so young." Roxas tensed when something brushed against his back. The touch was light as a falling leaf. A firm grip on his arm pulled him over onto his back closer to Axel. Lashing out against Axel's touch Roxas' hand was caught and forced above his head. Axel through a leg over Roxas to straddle him. Reaching off to the side he grabbed something thin and black. With a single deft movement he had it wrapped around Roxas' neck. "Don't move now," he muttered. Thrashing Roxas tried to throw him off. A painful heat scorched the side of his neck making him yelp in discomfort. "I said not to move."

Furious at the man who was stupid enough to try to collar him like a dog Roxas gathered his magic to change back into a wolf. But simply reaching for it sent a jolt of searing pain through him. He howled and arched his back in pain. He felt like fire was burning him from the inside. Little flames rocketed back and forth in him, exploding wherever they hit the surface. "Stop using magic!" Axel's command had him howling more. He wanted to rip apart his flesh. He wanted to sink his teeth into Axel's arm and tear it from its socket. He wanted to be a wolf! Reaching for a larger chunk of magic made his muscles twitch sporadically. He felt like he'd been hit by lightning. He could feel his body shift into a wolf but he couldn't breathe. Whatever was around his throat was too tight. His body changed back without his consent. Arching up off the bed he cried out again. Slowly he let go of the last bits of magic he was trying to hold onto. Almost immediately the pain receded.

"What did you do?" Roxas' voice was almost nonexistent. It sounded so feeble and weak; just how he felt. His limbs still twitched out of his control.

"I can't have you trying to rip my throat out."

"Let me go," commanded Roxas as firmly as he could. This was worse than death. He couldn't even reach for the magic in him. Only the constant thread that kept him human was allowed to him. The pain of even a drop more was horrific.

Axel's face leaned down to rest against Roxas' neck. It made him edgy, being so vulnerable was such a clear show of submission, but he was willing to submit. Axel had more power than even his father and he seemed fine with using it on Roxas. Licking a line up to Roxas' jaw he breathed in Roxas' scent. "I'm not ready for that yet." Disliking that answer Roxas snapped at Axel's face making him pull away. The look on the red head's face chilled Roxas as much as his magic had burned him. Roughly he flipped Roxas over, forcing both of his hands up above his head which was shoved into the pillow. His other hand forced Roxas' hips up.

"Let me teach you about mating," Axel growled into Roxas' ear. "You wolves take each other from behind like this." His hand left Roxas' hip to trace the cleft of his butt. "For you it's done to have pups." A finger poked at Roxas' hole, not quite entering, but threatening. He pulled away from Roxas to spit on him. The cool spit dribbled down to where his finger continued to hover at Roxas' entrance. Rolling his finger around in the spittle Axel pressed it fully against his hole. "Male finds female, they fuck 'til she's pregnant, she has pups, the cycle continues."

Axel's finger breached Roxas with a _pop_. Fighting against the foreign object Roxas rocked his hips forward away from it. His relief as being free was short lived. Axel's hand forced him back in place before the finger was back in him, curling up to secure its place. "But humans mate for fun." Trusting Roxas to know better than the move Axel straightened his finger again to pump it in and out of the still body in front of him. "It might be a male taking a female but there are others who want something else. Something most would shun them for." Pulling his finger out he spit into his palm. Rubbing his saliva over his hard member he looked down at the quivering body below him. "Females mate with females. Males with males. Not for pups; just for fun." Roxas' trembles doubled.

Lining himself up Axel hesitated. Reaching around Axel grabbed at Roxas' flaccid length. He tried to pull away from the hand fondling him only to almost impale himself on Axel. Whimpering in distress he tried to just hold as still as possible. A difficult task when he couldn't stop the trembles of fear from overwhelming him for even a second. No matter what the hand on his member did he couldn't feel anything but fear. Giving up Axel placed the hand back on Roxas' hips to hold him still. "And pleasure." He forced himself into Roxas in a smooth push. He could feel the boy's every tremble as his body struggled to get used to the invader. Roxas howled and buried his face into the pillow. Digging his teeth into it he tried to ignore the feeling of being split apart. Where Axel had entered him was on fire. It was just as bad as reaching for his magic. His hips forced themselves forward into the bed in a desperate effort to escape what was ripping him apart. Axel just moved with him and pressed him firmly into the bed.

With the first rocking motion Roxas gave up howling and screamed. He screamed as Axel pulled far enough out Roxas thought this was over before he forced himself back all the way in. The scream broke in Roxas' throat. As great as the pain was, as much as it made him aware of every inch of his body, he retreated into himself. He could still feel the pain, just in a disconnected way. All of the pain would end as soon as Axel was done. This would be over soon. He just had to bear it. Just ignore it… But the pounding of Axel into him kept threatening to pull him back to reality. Retreating even farther into himself he found a place where he wasn't even aware of Axel any more. Instead there was just a dark black throbbing pain. It constantly hummed with discomfort but it never got any worse or better. It was just there. He didn't know what it was, or where it came from, but he knew it nonetheless. In the blackness he toyed with this constant pain, strumming it gently. He held it like it was a newborn cub. This was his pain. It wasn't discomfort cause by Axel. This was completely him. This was precious.

So entranced was he by the trembling pain that he didn't even notice Axel was done with him until he was gone. Pulling himself out of his trance he tried not to move. Any small movement would bring back the pain. Even with his human nose he could smell the blood and sweat on him. And there was something else; the smell of mating. The odor was heavy and musky. And spicy. It was Axel in every way.

Gritting his teeth against the pain shooting down his lower back and butt he forced himself back onto his hands and knees. Where fluids had started to dry on him his skin cracked. Balancing on just one of his hands he reached behind him to feel the damage. It hurt like nothing he'd ever felt before but he was still whole for the most part. Blood and semen were dripping down his legs. Examining his hand he noted with a bit of satisfaction that there wasn't quite as much blood as he thought there would've been.

"So you are alive." Wiping his hand on the sheet below him Roxas ignored the pain in his body to turn and look back over his shoulder at Axel. The man stood, still fully naked, in the doorway to a small wash room. A towel already stained with blood and cum was in his hand. "I was afraid I broke you already." He tossed the towel onto the bed near Roxas. "Thought you might want to clean yourself up."

Grabbing the towel Roxas tried not to let any of his pain show on his face. "I promised the humans of the village I'd protect them," he said idly, as if it was nothing. "I promised myself I'd kill the dragon that killed my sister." Looking straight into Axel's eyes he made sure the man was aware of how serious Roxas was. "And I promise I will kill any dragon that uses me."

The little smirk Axel had worn coming out of the wash room flourished into a wide grin. He did enjoy feisty challenges. "Guess I'm safe then."


	4. Find a New Way

**~Chapter 4 - Find a New Way~**

So I've been thinking, would you guys like me to combine the short chapters with the long ones? Since every other one is long if I stuck them all together it'd make longer chapters and no short ones, each chapter being from the POV of two characters. Just a thought. But maybe you all like it how it is. I just don't know… And what if some of the small chapter characters get big chapters? So much thinking! I just like having a set way of doing things. I'm weird like that. So someone should let me know what they think, kay?

But I've also decided these side chapters aren't really pertinent to the story. You can go without reading them but they're kind of fun I think. Like this one is just a quick little thing about how Naminé got caught. You don't have to read it, but you might be wondering how exactly that happened.

Anywho, now I'll be updating a bit more slowly, only once or twice a week. Sorry!

* * *

><p><strong>Naminé<strong>

* * *

><p><em>Keep up! I could find humans faster than you!<em> Naminé said to her brother. They raced between the trees, not bothering to be silent. They ruled the forest. There wasn't a creature that could beat them in their own home. Roxas growled playfully back at her. He leapt at her, trying to knock her over but she darted forward to avoid him. She _woofed_ in amusement when he slid into a tree. Her brother was clumsy at times but that was all part of why she loved him. She loved him for simply being her twin and her pack, but she loved him for who he was. Cloud was her serious brother. Larxene was the demanding one. Demyx was the happy, silly one. Roxas was just Roxas. Clumsy at times, sometimes dense. But he was always there for her. It was more than him just being her twin, he was such a kind person. She wanted to be like him. Every one of the humans in the village adored him. When he said that he'd protect them from anything they believed him. When she said it they smiled and said thank-you but she could see that none of them thought she could really protect them. To the humans she was weaker than Roxas just because she was a she-wolf. But if she was given the chance she'd show them just how strong she really was.

_We don't have to run the whole way you know,_ Roxas said as he shook fallen leaves from his coat. Each strand of fur glittered when it caught the sun's rays through the trees. His eyes were a darker blue than the water of the river and so much deeper. Naminé was very happy to share looks with her brother. She wasn't a vain creature, but when it came to trying to find a mate she knew she wouldn't have much of a problem. Not that she actually wanted another wolf as a mate. Eventually she'd find the courage to tell her father, but for now it was her secret. But he wouldn't be too mad hopefully. Not when he'd let that one human into their pack because he liked her 'wolf spirit.' It wasn't unheard of for animals of magic to choose a human mate. But males did it more than females. In all of the magic races the females were dying out. More and more males were born every generation. She and her sister Larxene were the last two she-wolves in their whole pack after their mother had been killed.

Going back to where Roxas continued to clean himself off she let her birthright magic flow through her. Stretching out her limbs she got used to her human body again. It had been days since she last got to feel so free. As a wolf her senses were constantly at work. Having them dulled as a human was a nice break. Roxas copied her in her transformation. He rolled his shoulders a few times to get the stiffness out of his muscles. As always, his hair rose up off of his head like the wind was picking it up. It gave him a wild look. Even as a human there was something wolf-like about him. In contrast she bet that she could pass as a regular human. Her own blonde hair fell down around her face, barely brushing past her shoulders. As a human she didn't look nearly as wild as he did but Pence liked her like that. He always told her how pretty she was when they found a moment alone together. When he looked at her she felt her spirit soar. Around him she was the alpha wolf. He had no doubts that she would protect him.

"I know we don't have to run, but I want to get this over with." She wanted to get back to Pence. "The bears were probably just scouting like we do. No need to worry. They can't even navigate our forest." But she did worry for all of her brave words. When you looked at it impartially, they were surrounded and outnumbered. Chances were good that they would all be killed if they continued to fight for the humans. Not even for all of the humans, just for one orphaned prince.

"We'll if they're here now I don't see any of them." Roxas looked around as if he'd actually see one of the bears. "Want to make it a race?" he asked with a grin. "We'll head up to the edge of the forest. First one to count all of the bears camped out and makes it back here wins. Loser gives up the good meat for five moons."

"You're going to regret that Roxas," Naminé said with a grin, turning back into a wolf and taking off before he could even respond. Bounding through the trees she could sense him running to catch up with her. Her tongue lolled out of her muzzle in a grin. She could already see the edge of the forest. Bursting from the forest edge she felt like she was running on air. Within her sight she could see the bears that had set up their camp as humans and those that had chosen to remain animals. Arching off to the right she began a wide circle around them. Shouts rose from the camp alerting every one of hers and Roxas' presence. Making a mental tally of each bear and human she saw she finished her loop and darted back to the edge of the forest.

_I'm going with twenty-two_, she told Roxas as he skidded to a halt beside her.

_I'm going to say you lose. _His eyes glittered with joy. He took off again deeper into the forest. _I said to make it back to that spot with the number! _Growling at her own forgetfulness she darted forward. Veering a bit from their original path to cut down the distance between the points she focused solely on trying to get there before him. She was heedless of the noise she made or where she stepped. Landing heavily after a jump over a log she let out a yelp of surprise. The ground beneath her crumbled. The fall wasn't long but she felt her front leg snap under her weight. Howling in pain she bit down on a stick that had fallen with her to help cope with the pain. It didn't help.

_Roxas!_ She could feel his panic at her call through their bond. _Go get help to get me out._ Trying to think rationally through the pain was hard. Waves of red crashed over her vision. Every instinct told her to stand and climb out but she couldn't. Just trying to move her leg to a more comfortable position made her snarl in pain. _Hurry! _

_I'll find a stick and come get you!_ Laying her head down she tried to keep quiet. She could hear distant shouting. The bears were coming to get her. They'd be here before Roxas could help her.

_Rox, just go tell father what happened. I'll be fine. Bears are coming. If you get caught then who will tell father?_

_Naminé, I can't. I'll fight them-_

_I can fight them fine by myself. Just hurry._ She tried not to sound as uncertain as she felt. Who knew what the bears would do to her. She was an enemy after all. Roxas' upset howl echoed down into her hole but she tried not to let that bother her. She could hear the bears more clearly now.

When the first poked their head over the edge to look at her she growled up at them. The human-bear had shaggy brown hair and eyes. She bet he'd be a shaggy brown bear as well. The thought would've amused her if she hadn't been in so much pain. "We'll get you out," he said calmly. There wasn't a threat to hurt her more, or a warning to be nice to make sure they saved her. If he was their leader he was definitely sure of himself. "Tie the rope around that tree and hold on," he said to some of the other bears. "If I lower myself down to help you will you try not to maul me?" He asked it like he knew what he'd think no matter what she said. Whoever this bear was she liked the scruff, sure way about him.

_Help me,_ she told him. There was no promise that she wouldn't hurt him because she couldn't promise that. If he tried anything when he got into the hole with her she would kill him, injured leg or not. But he seemed fine with her answer. Making a loop with the free end of the rope he wrapped it around himself and let his bears lower him down. When he landed next to her he waited a moment for her to stop snarling before he approached her. _Are you the alpha of this pack?_ She asked as he examined her without touching her.

"You could say that," he said half distracted by his examination. "I'm going to move you now. It's going to hurt with your leg." As gently as he could he rolled her into his arms. The only other bear she knew was extremely strong even as a human. She thought it was just him but all bears seemed to be blessed with the strength even as humans; she wasn't exactly small as a wolf. When her leg was accidently jostled she howled in pain but clamped her muzzle shut as quickly as she could. He didn't mean to make it hurt more. Wrapping the rope around her as well he gave the order to pull them up. At the lip of the hole other hand grasped at the bear to pull him up but when they reached for her she snapped at them. None of them had said they'd be touching her. Only this bear. "Don't worry. They won't hurt you."

She wanted to tell him she didn't believe him but she couldn't. He'd been truthful up until now. No harm in trusting him a bit longer. He didn't seem like the type to lie. He'd say what he thought and do what he wanted. He seemed like her oldest brother Cloud in that manner. They both had commanding personalities. "I'm going to take you back to our camp. We can fix you up there."

_Why are you helping me? _

"No need to leave you there. We may be fighting for different reasons but we're all the same, aren't we?" He was right. Worse, she probably wouldn't care about most of the humans. She didn't really care about the orphaned prince. She protected him because it was her duty to.

_I'm Naminé,_ she told him.

"Leon." He carried her the whole distance back to their camp. None of the five other bears he had with him offered to try to help her again. When they got back to the camp many of the bears cheered like he had taken down a buck but he stared down their cheers for which she was thankful. It was bad enough being helped by the enemy, having their whole camp celebrate it was too much to endure.

Taking her into a tent at the center of the camp he set her on a bed of straw big enough for a bear. "I'll be right back. Try not to move." She _wuffed_ in agreement and watched him leave. When he didn't immediately return she rested her head on her good leg. The pain was exhausting. She would willingly give up all of the good meat from hunts until the next changing of the leaves if it would get her out of this situation. More than embarrassing, she didn't feel safe here. Not without Leon. If he was back here she'd feel a bit safer. He seemed to be the kind of man to give his word and keep it. She wondered how old he was. Maybe he was as old as her father. Maybe he was as young as Cloud.

Looking up as the tent fabric rustled she barked happily at Leon's return with something delicious. She could smell the fresh blood already. It wasn't much, but a rabbit was still food. Across one shoulder was a large piece of brown fabric. "Can you change to a human? I can fix your leg better if you could." Letting out loud yelp of pain she forced the transformation as quickly as she could. It brought the pain back ten-fold, but she could see the sense in being human. Taking the fabric from his shoulder he helped her slide into a large brown shirt much like his own before he held out the rabbit. Eagerly she ripped into it. Tearing past the fur she devoured the meat as best she could with one hand.

When only the carcass was left and she was licking the blood from her fingers Leon came and sat next to her with strips of fabric and sticks. "Hold still for me to set this." That was all the warning she got before he forced her arm straight. She bit down on her tongue hard enough to draw blood. As he wrapped the fabric around the sticks to keep her arm straight she moaned in pain. "I'm almost done."

"Thank-you." She looked at him until he was done and could look back at her. "Thank-you for this." Shrugging off her thanks he left her.

For the next days he came to visit her with food and to check on her arm. Occasionally she could draw him into a conversation but not often. If she had to leave the tent for whatever reason he went with her. None of the other bears even gave her a weird look if she was with Leon. She might've been a prisoner, but she couldn't bring herself to really feel like one.

The fifth rising of the moon since her fall had the bears stirred into frenzy. She couldn't tell what was going on from inside the tent but it was something big. Leon hadn't been to see her all day, instead sending in some cub with meat for her. She assumed he was just busy but now… Now she was afraid he was going to kill her. All of the bears outside were growling or roaring at something. The wind picked up outside her tent. Maybe it was just a storm. Maybe it was all in her head. Leon hadn't let anything bad happen to her here. Two sets of footsteps coming towards the tent had her sitting up. The wind died down and she could hear two male voices speaking softly. As the tent flap opened she felt relief at seeing Leon. It didn't matter who the red headed stranger was, Leon wouldn't let him hurt her. Not after he spent so much time fixing her.

"This is Naminé. Naminé, this is Axel." She inclined her head but didn't take her eyes off of him. "I've asked him to take you home." Her eyes snapped back to Leon. "I can't go into the forest but he can."

"You can trust me," Axel said as he held out a hand to her. She just continued to look at Leon for a long time. He didn't flinch away from her gaze but returned it as steady as ever. He was like Cloud and Cloud wouldn't lie about something like this.

Hoping down from the bed she placed her good hand in Axel's. "Take me home."

"Of course." Leading her from the tent she gasped at the great silver dragon settled down right outside of the tent. It had to be one of the most elegant creatures she'd ever seen. A long neck arched gracefully from a sturdy yet lithe body. Wings of an almost transparent silver blue unfurled in a stretch. She was in awe. "That's Riku. He'll be taking you home," Axel told her. He seemed amused at her awe.

Letting go of his hand she went to stand in front of the dragon. "Riku," she said softly. The dragon's head bent down to look at her with one great blue eye. "I understand the reality of our positions but I want to thank you for taking me home." Be kind to creatures that could flatten you in a step. It couldn't hurt to be nice so Riku didn't decide to try to fry her like humans cooked rabbit. His head landed down on the ground near her. His eye glanced back towards his shoulder. Axel was already there scrambling onto Riku's back. Holding out a hand he helped Naminé up. "Thank-you, Leon!" she called down as Riku straightened up. She would be sure to let her father know that not all bears were horrible. It was good to know some were okay.

Riku took a few running steps to help him take off and soon they were in the air. Already they were above the forest. If she could always fly she could get places so much faster. But running was okay too. Soon she could see the small clearing where the village was. From there she could guess where her pack was. "There!" she shouted over the wind rushing past them. "My pack is down there."

Neither Axel nor Riku acknowledged that she said anything. Fear flashed through her. Leon couldn't have lied. But he trusted Axel… "Axel? Are you taking me home?" His arms wrapped around her tightly, keeping her in place and forcing her broken arm against her painfully. Growling in anger she struggled against him. She was not going to let this happen. But no matter how hard she fought she was kept trapped by his grip. Her forest passed below her in a flash of green and soon they were soaring towards the mountains. Screaming in panic she thrashed harder. A hole opened up in the top of one of the mountains and she could see them descending into it. Not knowing what else to do she forced herself to transform back into a wolf. The sticks snapped and her leg throbbed in pain but she was able to break away from Axel's grip. But with all of her thrashing she slipped from Riku's back. Axel tried to catch her as she fell but he was too late. Even Riku attempted to grab onto her. Her body hit the ground with a resounding _thunk_. She could feel most of the bones on her right side shatter, if not outright break. Growling at the dragon landing near her she tried to scramble to her feet but her body wouldn't let her get up. She hurt too much.

"Axel, is there a reason there is half dead wolf on the floor?" Looking around Naminé tried to find where the voice was coming from. Stone chairs of all different heights rose in a circle around her. If she craned her neck at a strange angle she could see a man with long silver hair and a single large black dragon wing protruding from his back.

"If you're still looking for the wolf pack with the human she's from it. And I thought I'd see if wolves could fly." The nice tone Axel had had at the bear camp was gone. This new Axel was full of derision.

The man with one wing looked down at her. She vaguely remembered a story she was told as a pup about the great black dragon that had lost a wing to a wolf. Her father said that was how her mother died. If that was true that meant the man before her was the dragon that killed her mother. If her mother died just taking off a wing what was she supposed to do half broken already? A wave of his hand and a small ball of fire went shooting towards her. As it hit her leg she yowled at the feeling of fire consuming her fur and blistering the flesh below it. The smell was horrible. Feeling her flesh tingle from fire was sickening. It was worse than breaking her leg.

"Tell me wolf. Do you know of a human in your pack that used to be some sort of prince? Or is he in the village near you?"

_Leave the village alone!_ She snarled at him. Pence was there. If he was hurt because she broke her leg she'd never forgive herself. Another small ball of fire hit her leg again. Snarling at him she refused to say anything until the fire stopped. _He's with the pack. Not the village._

Hearing her words Axel climbed back onto Riku and took off. As they disappeared out of the stone chamber the man turned his attention back to her. "You're useless." She could feel a pressure pressing against her mind. It wasn't the type her father imposed upon the pack to make them listen; this one was suffocating her thoughts. It was telling it to shut off and shut down her body.

_Pence,_ she thought as her body spasmed in pain.


	5. The Only One

**~Chapter 5 – The Only One~**

Wow. Chapter 5. Wow. I hope everyone likes it so far! It's going well from this end. Well, mostly. Coming home for winter break and I find out I have no internet on my laptop (well, no WiFi at home) and my father's deleted my account on the home computer. And then I got half of this chapter written, did the next two chapters and had the hardest time coming back to this one. But it's done now! Yay! And I wrote it mostly listening to _The Only One_ by Joel Piper.

Anywho! I've got a little challenge for those of you who are interested! I really hate this summery. Like, hate with a burning bloody passion, would stab with a pitchfork if I could, _hate_. I'm looking for a new summery for this story and I'm hoping someone would be willing to help me with that! Send me what you think the summery should be and I'll choose one to become the one everyone sees. Everyone who sends me a suggestion will be recognized and the winner gets a chapter dedicated to whatever they want. Okay? So get to thinking! 'Cause I _**really**_ hate my summery. Oh, and this contest will continue on until chapter 10 goes up. I want this to be a longer story so you guys have some time to think! ^_^ Love you all for helping!

* * *

><p><strong>Sora<strong>

* * *

><p>Sitting alone in what he supposed was his room for now Sora tried not to panic. Dragons had always scared him but the wolf pack he'd been allowed to live with had been kind. The bear Lexaeus had let him climb all over him when he was a child and the lion Wakka would always wrestle with him. In the forest he had tried to grow strong and force himself to believe that the magic wielding animals were good. Except for the dragons of course. But the truth was they couldn't be good. At least, not like the pack was good. Xigbar had him convinced he was just keep alive to be a snack for the dragon Riku later.<p>

Moaning in fear Sora sat himself down on the small bed under the window. The room was sparse with only a bed, table, wooden chair, wash basin and fireplace. But this was the first real bed he had been near in years. In the forest he slept on leaves with the pack. For a while he had wanted to go make a life with the villagers but Luxord hadn't wanted any more humans to know about him. It was all for his own protection. And they'd done everything they could to keep him safe. It was inevitable the dragons tried to finish the last of his family off.

So why was Axel helping him? When the man had come to get him he'd asked Sora if he was the prince and Sora had said he was. But he'd lied to the other dragons and said he wasn't because Roxas had denied it. He wanted to say Roxas saved him but the truth was it was Axel and the dragon Riku who had chosen to keep him alive. He owned them his life now. But what did that even mean? His life wasn't worth much except to the dragons who wanted him dead. And he still wasn't even clear on why it was so important for him to die.

A polite knock on his door had him looking up from the floor. "Sora?" a soft female voice called. "Can I come in?"

"Uh, sure," he said, shocked by the courtesy. Living in the forest had made him forget that it wasn't normal to just barge in on whoever was nearby. Human's had doors and locks for a reason.

When a small head popped in through the open door he tried not to stare. All of the magical animals were good looking humans. It was just one of those things Sora had noticed but never really thought more about. But the girl looking in at him now was more than just good looking. She was beautiful. Thick brown hair, almost plum colored, fell gently around her shoulders. Big amethyst eyes framed by long dark lashes peeked at him. "Sora?" she asked again.

"S-sorry," he muttered looking down again. This girl had the same kind of delicate beauty Roxas' sister Naminé had. "I didn't mean to stare."

"That's alright!" she hurriedly assured him. "Xigbar told me he put you in here so I thought I'd come introduce myself. I'm Kairi." Stepping fully inside the room and held out a hand to him. A simple dress of deep red wrapped loosely around her. A thin black band of leather encircled her neck. Still trying not to look at her too much he shook the offered hand. Her skin was unbelievably soft. "I've been told you're going to need some more clothes and something to do for as long as you're here."

Interest caught Sora looked up at her. "So I won't be a dragon's snack?"

Her laugh was like bells. "No! Of course not! Axel likes bringing home orphans and strays. He collects us like squirrels collect acorns." Sitting down rather close to Sora she rested her elbows on her knees. "He's a good man really, he just likes having a family. And once you've been collected you're part of his family. Or court. It depends on who you ask. But I think he's just trying to make this feel like home."

"If I'm not part of his family what am I? The weird nephew?"

Kairi laughed at the suggestion. "I think Axel's like the dad and we're all his children. It's that kind of family. He likes taking care of us."

Sora thought about that for a second. It made some sense. Some. Not much. But he wasn't going to question it too much when he was at least alive thanks to Axel. "So what does Axel want me to do while I'm here?"

"He never really said but with Tidus gone with Leon no one is really around to take care of Riku so why don't you do that until we get you a more permanent job?"

Sora could feel the color drain from his face. "Take care of Riku? The dragon?"

"You know, just bring him food and clean his scales. It's like your human – what's the word for the boys – squires? The ones that serve the knights? But instead of cleaning clothes and armor you clean his scales. It's really not hard; he keeps them fairly clean by himself. There are just some spots he can't always reach."

"Why doesn't he turn back into a human? He can, can't he?"

"Of course he can. He just hasn't for a while now." The way Kairi said that made it clear there was more but Sora was still too new here to be told the whole story. He could understand that. He still wasn't sure about having to take care of Riku, but he'd do it and try not to shake in fear. Riku had flown him here. If he wanted to kill Sora he could've done so already. At least that's what Sora told himself. "Now, I'll go find Aerith and see if she can get some clothes ready for you. Why don't you go explore the castle? Riku is in the courtyard still. I'll come find you later to give you a proper tour." She stood up from the bed and made her way to the door. Hand on the knob she looked back at him and smiled. "Just don't wake up any of the sleeping animals, okay? They can get cranky when they're disturbed."

"Wait! Does this mean you're human too?"

He knew it was a futile hope but the way she had said it had almost made it sound like she was a human like him. What he wouldn't give to have another human around right then. But she smiled sadly back at him. "No, I'm a fox. Humans around here are scarce." Letting herself out she left Sora to sulk. The idea that he was the only human here bothered him. He didn't know if any of these animals meant him harm of if they could even be trusted. The only one here he was safe around was Roxas and Roxas had been taken left in Axel's room earlier that day. But if Roxas was going to be Axel's squire like he was to be Riku's they'd see each other plenty! And after the black dragon had killed his family he hadn't expected to get the chance to ever squire for a knight or become a knight. That still wasn't likely to happen, but this was close enough. Though by his age he should be a knight already.

Sighing heavily he forced himself off the bed and out of his room. No point in continuing to mope about it. And if he was going to be Riku's squire he really needed to clear it with the dragon. He didn't think Riku would be okay with him just bringing up a brush to start cleaning him without notice first.

Trying to get back to the courtyard was easier than he thought it would be. Heading down the stairs so he was on the first level he just went back in the vague direction Xigbar had taken them from. Only a few wrong turns slowed his progress down before he found the courtyard. None of the other animals in the castle were around this time. Only Riku lay seemingly asleep in the bright mid-day sun. Sora approached him as quietly as he could, still keeping a respectful distance between them. Dragons might scare him worse than anything but Riku was a rather magnificent beast. Each perfect scale was a polished silver disk that reflected any light. Wings with a span of twice the length of the dragon were folded carefully against his sides, silver-bluish membranes pressed tight against the scale of his body.

Sitting cross-legged near Riku Sora waited patiently for him to wake. Kairi had said not to wake the sleeping animals and he really didn't feel like touring the huge castle by himself. Not if Kairi was willing to give him a guided tour later. It just seemed more important to gain Riku's permission to help take care of him. Though he doubted Riku even needed help. He was sure to hunt better by himself and he probably would just get annoyed at Sora scrambling over him trying to clean his back. He wouldn't even really mind if Riku told him to find something else to do. Staying as far away from all dragons as possible seemed like a fine thing to do. But that was unrealistic and Sora could accept that. He was good at realizing that most of the things in his life couldn't be changed.

The sun had barely moved when Riku heaved a sigh and opened one eye to look at Sora. Scrambling to his feel Sora bowed slightly towards the dragon. Each eye was almost as large as Sora. They were too green to be blue yet too blue to be green and they glowed from the fire within him. The strange color swirled and captivated Sora. "Riku! I'm sorry if I woke you!" Sora apologized quickly. "But I've been told that I'm to be taking over Tidus' duties of helping to take care of you. If that's okay with you?" He wasn't sure what to expect. He was hoping Riku would say something to him. Or even make a motion to say it was okay. But he just stared at Sora. Nervously shifting his weight Sora tried not to look away. "If you don't want me to help you I understand," he mumbled. "I'm a human after all, and I know you probably would rather cook me alive. Which is something I hope you don't do by the way. But I would like the chance to be able to squire for you." Clamping his jaw he stopped his rambling. Talking the dragon's ear off was not the way to secure a place. Did Riku even have ears? His eyes quickly darted up to check. Sure enough there were small ears atop his head. _Stop being stupid Sora,_ he scolded himself. _Of course he has ears. _Furiously blushing at his continuing stupidity Sora looked at the ground. "I'll take that as a yes then," he muttered as he slowly backed away. Riku's eyes watched him the whole time.

Finally back inside the main castle Sora sighed. This would be a lot easier if Riku would say something to him. Maybe they'd even have some decent conversation. Or at the very least Sora could start to get over his fear of dragons. Or his fear of Riku at least.

"Kairi informed me she's put you in charge of Riku's care." Sora hadn't heard anyone approach. Whipping his head around he backed away from the man who had suddenly appeared. Did animals naturally move silently? "Did he agree with her positioning?"

"I think so. He didn't say anything to me. But he didn't try to eat me." When he said the words it seemed like Riku might as well have accepted him as his new caretaker. He didn't eat him.

"Well, I'm glad he didn't try to eat you," said the man with a hint of sarcasm. Pewter hair fell across most of his face leaving only one eye and his mouth to Sora's view. The one eye he could see was just a shade darker than has hair. Just like Kairi he had a thin black leather band around his neck. "Are you okay with the arrangement?"

Sora wasn't quite sure what to say. That might have been the first time since his parents died that someone actually asked him if he was alright with the way his life was going. Animals all seemed to have their set ways of dominance. They just assumed he would always follow their rules. "I suppose so." The man just gave him a look. It was like he knew all of Sora's uncertainties just by looking at him. "Who are you?"

"Zexion." A small smirk twitched on his lips. "You can think of me as Axel's advisor." Sora tensed unwillingly. Another dragon? Seeing the nervousness on Sora's face Zexion's smirk widened further. "Run back to your room, Sora. I'll send Kairi up with food. Stay out of the halls until we tell you otherwise." His piece said he didn't wait around to see if Sora would listen to him. Like everyone else he assumed Sora would just do as he was told.

And as pathetic as it was Sora didn't linger long. He tried to remember the way he came from but it seemed more like the way Xigbar had taken him before. It would be a longer walk back by Axel's room, but he was pretty sure he remembered the way back from there. Each step he took, each corner he turned, had him afraid he would run into someone new. All of the beasts around were scary. He couldn't feel safe here. He needed to find Roxas.

Picking up the pace he rushed to Axel's room, silently pleading that he wasn't there and Roxas still was. When he found the door he took a deep breath to steady himself. He'd come up with an excuse for Axel if he was there. But he wouldn't know until he at least knocked. Pounding gently on the door he bit the inside of his cheek. "Roxas?" He waited so long he was sure Roxas had been given a different room as well. How he was supposed to find him then was beyond him. Resting his head against the door he sighed. This. Was. Hell. He wanted to get Roxas as find a way to get back to the forest.

No, what he really wanted was to find enough courage to take a handle on his own life. Stop play fighting with wolves and lions to kill the dragon that ruined his life. Start a new life. Hell, he wanted to find a girl, get a home _not_ in the forest and have kids. Had his life not been turned upside-down he would've been married off to someone by now. Maybe even with a kid on the way. It was the way his life should have been. But now he wasn't even sure he could talk to a girl. He didn't know what being _intimate_ would be like. That was something his father would've told him about one day. And the way the wolves mated was not something he wanted to do. If that was how it was done, either impartial or violent, one way or the other, he didn't want any of it.

The door opened violently leaving Sora to try to steady himself. A hand wrapped around his neck to pull him inside the door. Falling heavily to one knee he coughed as the hand released his throat. A low growl behind him and the shutting of the door hand him looking up. "What was that for Rox?"

"Wasn't sure it was really you," Roxas replied monotonously. It had only been a few hours since they got here but already Roxas looked and seemed different. His blond hair, normally swept up like being blown by the wind, was disheveled and falling. There was anger in every line of his still very naked frame. Yet the part Sora couldn't stop looking at was the thin black leather band he wore, just like Kairi and Zexion.

"What is that?" asked Sora with a snarl of his own. Was he already one of them?

Reaching up Roxas tried to get ahold of the band. Exposing more of his neck Sora noticed the large burn blisters along one side. Small bruises wrapped around his wrists. "Axel." Axel. He saved Sora's life even though he knew Sora was the one the dragons wanted to kill. He hadn't hurt him or told any of the beasts to. He gave Sora his own room and yet Sora knew nothing about him and he had hurt Roxas. But not Sora.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Roxas snarled, stalking back to the fur rug at the foot of the bed as best he could while limping. Sitting on the rug he leaned back against the foot of the bed bending one leg up to steady himself. "Are you okay?" His eyes traveled over Sora's body, checking him for any signs of what happened to him had been done to Sora. "If any of these _monsters_ hurt you I will kill them."

"You don't have to keep protecting me," Sora mumbled. "I can take care of myself here." He could see exactly what Roxas thought about that. The faith he had in Sora was next to nothing. Of course he knew he could never beat a bear or a wolf in any physical fight but he could try his best to stay alive without Roxas defending him. "But Roxas, what did Axel do to you?" The snarl that came from Roxas' throat was bestial. No human could've ever made a noise like that.

"Leave it alone Sora. Just get out, Axel should be back soon." Letting out a snarl of his own, Sora stormed back to the door. Even now he was being given orders. Forcing the door open he stormed out. Keeping himself limited to a fast walk he stormed back through the castle. He didn't want to go back to his room. He didn't want to listen to Zexion. He just wanted to get out. He wanted his life back.

Deciding he needed to take a first step he went back down the stairs. Holding onto the anger building in his gut he tried to ignore the fluttering nervousness threatening to make him sick. Storming out into the courtyard he walked right up to stand in front of Riku. The dragon opened one lazy aqua eye to regard Sora. Licking his lips nervously he tried to not turn around and run. "Riku," he paused, voice cracking from nerves, "Let me squire for you. _Tell me_ I can." _And please don't get mad and eat me_, he thought as well.

Lifting his head he gave Sora his full attention for once. Wings ruffled and legs pushed himself up to tower above Sora. Growling deep in the back of his throat he snapped right in front of Sora. When Sora still didn't move Riku let a small jet of flame to hit the ground to the far right of Sora. He could feel the heat from the flames but they weren't close enough to touch him. But Sora still held his trembling stance. He couldn't keep being scared. He needed to make that clear. For another few moments Riku continued to thrash about. When it became clear Sora wasn't leaving he let out a deafening roar. Clamping his hands over his ears Sora let his shaking legs give out from underneath him. "Just tell me I can!"

The roar broke off suddenly. Removing his hands from his ears Sora felt like the new silence was just as bad as the roaring. Staring up at Riku with wide terrified eyes he tried not to whimper. _Don't kill me, don't kill me, don't kill me…_

_Clap. Clap. Clap._ "Way to go, So-ra." The singsong way of saying his name made Sora shake even worse. Though at the same time it made Sora angrier under all of the fear. He could barely tell where one ended and the next emotion began. "I haven't seen Riku this energetic in years. Want to tell me why you have my friend yelling loud enough to disturb my castle?"

"I was told to be his squire but he won't tell me I'm allowed to."

"He's yelling annoyingly loud. I could hear him from the armory."

"I can't hear him!" Staring up at the dragon still fuming above him, Sora tried to convey just how serious he was. "If he's saying anything, I can't hear it! It's all just him roaring."

Coming up beside Sora, Axel placed a hand on Sora's shoulder. "We don't spend much time around humans. Maybe we can't talk to humans when we're in our natural form. Not really sure. Doesn't really matter. The point is that Riku has repeated said you can be his squire. And he wants you to bring him food."

"Oh." Sora tried not to feel stupid. It wasn't his fault he couldn't hear Riku. Shrugging off the hand on his shoulder he turned to face Axel. He'd changed from his leathers to a simple tunic and leggings still in black. "And you," he said, remembering what had triggered his newfound anger. "What did you do to Roxas? He hasn't done anything for you to hurt him." Roxas couldn't always be there to protect him. Sora would need to protect himself and Roxas for once. He had to grow up.

Passing Sora an amused look he just shrugged. "I have nothing to say that can defend myself. But feel free to yell. But you might want to wait until _after_ you get Riku food. He says he's been waiting since you visited earlier."

Feeling the anger slip from his grasp all that filled the gap was his fear. Hungry dragon Riku assumed he had heard him earlier and been waiting for food. The terror at being eaten was still very much alive. It far surpassed any new steal he had found in his backbone. Axel became unimportant as Sora hurried off to find Riku something to eat.

"This wouldn't have happened if you would stop sulking," Sora heard Axel say as he left. The answering roar shook the castle in its intensity. Fury resonated in every note of the sound. It actually made Sora pause in the hall for a moment. What Axel had said had definitely struck a chord with Riku. Sora desperately wanted to know what Riku was sulking over. Some form of leverage over the dragon would be helpful. Walking through the halls he began to wonder exactly where he was supposed to go to get Riku food. He didn't even know what the dragon ate. Deer? Pigs? Humans? Please not humans.

Following his gut, and his nose a bit, he found the kitchens towards the east of the castle. Many animals and animals as humans were bustling around. He tried not to laugh as he watched a bear try to balance a plate on his claws. Standing off to the side Sora tried to figure out who he needed to talk to about dragon food. Kairi was there in the thick of it all but he really didn't want to even try to force his way through everyone to get to her. Chances of getting trampled were too high. "Kairi! Kairi!" he waved at the girl. Seeing him she gave a few more directions to the animals around her before working her way to him.

"Sora! Sorry! I know I said I'd be back to show you around but things have gotten a bit crazy. Axel's sent the word out that we're going to start taking in more animals and humans like you and Roxas. Just in case we've been getting all of the extra room ready. Are you okay? Do you need anything?"

"Dragon food."

"So Riku's accepted you?"

"I'm not sure that's a good way to put it… But I need to get food for him."

"Follow me then!" Grabbing his hand so he really had no choice she led him through the chaos of the kitchen. Here and there she yanked him to the side to avoid something that had spilt. The grip on his hand had caused his fingers to fall asleep by the time they finally arrived at the storage room behind the kitchen. Inside were grains and potatoes, vegetables and meats. Yeah. There were more meats than Sora thought could ever be consumed. But these were animals after all, and mostly carnivores at that.

"The fresh stuff that comes in daily is stored here," Kairi said motioning to the meat on the right. "We keep the stuff to be cooked in the back and everything that's been salted for later goes on the left. Riku likes anything fresh but he really likes pigs and cows. Deer will do but he isn't a fan of lions or wolves. And he really doesn't like fish. He hates anything that lives in the water."

"So how much do I bring to him?"

"He eats less than the other dragons. Bring him a deer for breakfast, another for lunch and a pig for dinner. About that much meat should keep him sated." Nodding her head, pleased with herself, Kairi left him so she could get back to her own duties.

Staring at the carcass of a dead pig Sora scratched his head. It was great he knew what to bring. Even better Kairi had shown him where it all was so he didn't waste extra time wandering around or trying to hunt on his own. But really… how was he supposed to carry a dead pig out to the courtyard? It was almost as big as him! And completely dead weight. Wrapping his hands around one leg of the pig he pulled it away from the others. The skin of the pig ripped against the rough stone floor and a small trickle of blood leaked out. He wasn't even out of the storage room and already he was messing this up. Great. Going to the other side of the pig he tried to roll it instead. Pushing it up Sora got his hands on the bloodied side of the pig and flipped it over. With his hands now slippery he had a harder time doing it again. The pig was just too big and heavy for him alone.

"Stupid pig," he said, kicking the dead pig.

"Stop taking your anger out on the dead animal. It can't fight back." Looking up Sora glared at Xigbar who chose to stare at him with a smile from where he leaned in the doorway. "If you want to fight I'm more than willing of course."

"I don't want to fight," snapped Sora. Wiping his hands on his trousers he glared at Xigbar. He didn't want to deal with any more animals giving him a hard time. "I want to get this out to Riku."

"Why didn't you just ask?" Walking into the room Xigbar bent down and hoisted the carcass over one shoulder like it was nothing. Even though it looked so strange for him to be carrying a pig Xigbar did it with ease. Not even giving Sora another glance Xigbar carried it out back through the kitchen where Kairi was missing and out to the courtyard where Riku was flapping his wings in impatience. Seeing his food his head darted forward, neck stretching out farther than Sora thought it could, to snatch it delicately from Xigbar's shoulder. Dropping it to the ground in front of him with a good chunk already missing Riku ignored him as well. Xigbar just turned and left leaving Sora standing there staring at the dragon, not knowing what to do.

In just two more bites, one for the front half one for the back, Riku had finished the pig. His long tongue darted out to lick his muzzle clean of the few drops of blood that dared to stain his scales. Full and content he took his time settling back down, wings fluttering to move excess dirt from the ground tail curling up around his for comfort. Finally settled, Sora couldn't help but think he looked rather majestic, like a lion. Granted, he'd only ever known one lion and maybe Wakka was just strangely majestic. Maybe he got it from the wolves he lived with. Wolves were rather majestic creatures in a very violent sort of way. Not that he'd ever thought wolves were all that regal until then. So it was mostly Riku just being a very scary, imposing dragon.

Pinning Sora with a pointed stare Riku's eyes stayed locked on him until he was fidgeting. Then Sora couldn't stand the gaze any longer and looked around for a safe place to escape to. There was no way he'd be getting over his fear of dragons tonight. Nope. Not when he was more ready to pee himself.

Ears ringing from the undivided attention and his own nerves Sora bit the inside of his cheek. "So if you don't need anything else I'll just be going..." he muttered. Glancing up Riku still had his eyes focused on Sora. Had he even blinked? Creepy.

His head was actually really beginning to hurt. Maybe he should've spent some time resting. He hadn't actually gotten more than snatched sleep here and there for all of that day. If he went to sleep now he might be able to wake up before the sun rose and tour the castle to familiarize himself with it. If Kairi was going to stay so busy he would have to do it himself. No more relying on others. And he would have to find a cart to carry the meat out for Riku. Asking someone to help him each time would be embarrassing. If he did all of that maybe Riku would stop just staring at him expectantly.

"I think I'll be going." The ringing in his ears, the pounding in his head, both made his voice sound distant and muted to his own hearing. He wanted to seem strong in front of Riku but his head felt like it was caught in a wolf's jaw, teeth piecing his skull and making his brain bleed. A sudden throb of pain had him gasping and gripping at his head. Any sounds he tried to make caught in his throat. The pain was going to destroy his mind. It was going to burn him from the inside out. He needed to release the pressure building in his head so it didn't blow up!

And then it was gone. Only the ringing remained but even that was more of a memory of the ringing. His head felt disturbingly light and shaking it made it feel almost detached from his body. "Sorry about that," Sora muttered as he straightened himself back up. Blinking a few times he tried to smile at Riku. "Sudden headache."

Riku blinked a few times as well. Tilting his head forward he gave Sora a rather knowing look. A rather pleased look. Suddenly Sora remembered seeing others with a splitting pain in their heads. All of the wolves had cringed and huddled and curled in on themselves the first time he'd seen Riku and Axel. Animals could talk to each other mind to mind using their magic. That never seemed to hurt. It was only when one animal was forcing their dominance over another that any pain seemed to occur. It was bending the will and mind of one animal to submit to another. If that was what Riku had just done Sora was damned glad he wasn't an animal.

"Riku…" Sora said quietly, slowly. The dragon was terrifying, but that pain was horrifying. "Please, if that was you, don't do that again. Whatever that was… Not again." Before Riku could try it again, before he could make him stay, Sora ran. Letting his feet carry him through the halls he found himself back in the kitchen. Kairi was back directing everyone. He didn't want to disturb her, just be close. She was the nicest person here so far. He would've gone to Roxas but… he needed comfort. Someone taking care of him was fine, but he needed to feel strong by himself right then. He wanted Kairi's feminine comfort. Sitting down in the hall outside the kitchen he decided to wait until she was free.

Time went by quickly as he was lulled into comfort by the sounds and smells of the kitchen. His butt fell asleep, his leg muscles froze in his seated position and his chin slowly came to rest on his chest. _Kairi will come out soon,_ he told himself. _She'll wake me up._

As he drifted to sleep he could almost remember being little and hiding in the kitchens: Those same comforting smells; Warm laughter. The kitchen was always a safe place. And like every other fond memory he had he couldn't help but remember the fire and the smell of smoke that invaded the forest as everything and everyone he loved burned in a dragon's fire.


	6. Daisy

**~Chapter 6 - Daisy~**

Yeah… This was written and finished before chapter 5 was. Sad? Maybe. But I've got a bunch of the smaller character's stories floating around in my head and I really have been dying to write this chapter for a while because I think there are some events that can really change a character's perspective and I think it's fun to explore that! IT just didn't get put up because I got distracted from editing because I was playing _Skyrim._ And as of yesterday I beat it. Everything. It's really sad...

This chapter was written to _Daisy_ by Halfway to Hazard. Seemed rather appropriate, don't you think? Go listen to it. Now, on with the show!

* * *

><p><strong>Leon<strong>

* * *

><p>As the sun it its peak in the sky <em>they<em> arrived. Unlike the other wolves these ones hid in the forest. Their only clue they were even out was the scent change on the wind when it changed directions. It was something so faint Leon hadn't caught it while a human. His little brother had picked up the scent while standing guard at the perimeter. Instead of running back to tell him, Tidus had called for someone to relieve him saying he wanted to get food. As a bear Tidus had a lighter coat of brown than Leon and was smaller, but the later was mostly because of his age. The way he was growing he would easily rival Leon in size if they took care of this wolf problem before _they_ took care of them.

Sighing heavily he fingered the leather band around his neck. Now was not the time for Axel to forget to visit. He wanted the damned thing off. Though outnumbered at least four to one Leon wanted to be in the fight as a bear with his teeth and claws, not human with a pathetic sword and armor. Leave it to Axel to happen to do this to him at such an inconvenient time. If anything happened to Tidus he'd kill the wolf who did it then kill Axel for preventing him from defending his brother.

From his chair in his tent he looked over to his bed. _Naminé…_ It had been just barely over a week since he had brought her back to camp. Only yesterday had Axel taken her away. If these wolves had come just a day sooner he might've been persuaded to let her run back to her pack with them. Those big blue eyes of hers had been innocent in a way only an animal could be. She'd been so trusting of him because he'd shown her one instance of kindness. In reality, he just wanted her out of that hole in case more of her pack or any other came to check up on them. He couldn't have her warning them of the pits dug in the forest. Once she was out it had been recovered and ready for the next wolf to fall in.

Even taking her back to camp hadn't been his plan. But when she had curling into his chest as best she could to get away from the other bears trying to pull her out as well he couldn't help it. He felt bad for her. She was all alone here, her brother having run away to inform his pack. Besides, they were all animals, right? Shouldn't they all be on the same side? They had been until the dragons and Axel came back to take their places at the top of the food chain. So he'd kept her in his tent, wrapped her broken arm and brought her food. As hard as he tried to keep a distance between them, she was nothing more than a captive in the bear camp after all, every time he entered she'd try to draw him into a conversation. She seemed to genuinely want to get to know him. He refused to answer any of her questions but he couldn't help but comment when she just blurted things out. He knew about her pack now; the brother that ran away was Roxas, the oldest that she thought of whenever Leon was around was Cloud, Larxene and Demyx were the other twins, as different as light as dark. It never seemed to occur to her that telling him everything could be dangerous.

He should've used the information to hunt out every last human from the village in the forest. Their battle wasn't with the wolves directly anyways. But he couldn't. When she spoke about the village her voice took on a tender note. Her eyes lit up in a way he'd never seen before. Some human in that village was dear to her. How could he use what she told him in trust, because Leon reminded her of her brother, when he'd so obviously broken that trust? It had been painfully obvious that Axel and Riku had wanted to question her. Right then he should've told then everything she'd said and tried to protect her. In just a few days she'd become important to him. He looked forward to dropping off her food to talk with her. He wanted to be the big brother she saw him to be. But he already had a little brother to look after. Letting Axel take her away, not back to her pack as he had promised, but back to the mountains to be questioned hurt Leon. He had told her to trust him when he said Axel would take her home. Being truthful with himself, he'd hoped Axel would see something special in her. He had hoped to see the predatory gleam in his eyes that would make him want to add her to his collection. If he had she would be taken back to his castle and he'd see her again. He could keep listening to her stories. Given enough time he was sure even Tidus would like her.

The gleam of wanting just wasn't there.

Trying not to think of what was being done to her dead body now he stood from his chair and grabbed his sword. These beasts from Naminé's pack would be given one chance to live. He'd give her memory at least that. Striding from his tent he watched as bears and men looked up from their work. The sun was touching the horizon behind him now. If it came down to a real fight he'd have the advantage for a few moments. At the edge of camp Tidus continued to sit as a bear and act like he was clueless to the enemies close enough to worry them. Walking past him he trusted that his brother knew better than to follow him.

"Show yourselves!" he shouted into the forest as he approached. Stopping a healthy distance away he wanted for one of them to show. His sword hung loosely in his hand not at all threatening but still very much there. A flash of golden fur behind a tree and a few seconds later revealed a tall, muscular man with the same golden hair and blue eyes as Naminé. The controlled way he moved told Leon who he was. Naminé had tried to explain her brother Cloud to him but Leon just now realized what she meant when she said he had a commanding aura. He was born to be an alpha male. "You're Cloud I presume?"

"Where's Naminé?" His voice wasn't the gravelly snarl Leon thought it would be. His tone was elegant, voice regal. Like all magic animals he had no problem showing off his naked body. It was just natural to them. Leon only had clothes on because with that band of leather around his neck he was stuck as a human and humans lacked enough fur to keep warm.

"How many of your pack have you brought? Three? Four?"

"Return Naminé to us and we won't kill you."

Ignoring the wolf's threat Leon tried to figure out exactly how long he would have to stall for before Axel arrived. If all went as planned Axel would be around by the time the sun rose next. If Leon could keep from fighting until then Riku and Axel could take care of them and Leon wouldn't have to risk any bear's life.

"Leave here peacefully and you won't die." A silent snarl arched Cloud's lips. There was the fire. Naminé had been a blazing flame herself, he had assumed the rest of her pack would be the same. Maybe they were and Cloud was just in more control of his animal instincts. But he wanted to see Cloud burn with intensity. That's what he missed from Naminé. He wanted to watch the intensity of her emotions. If was a reminder of what they were supposed to be like, of what _he_ was supposed to be like.

Leon could hear many of the bears from the camp forming up behind him. Tidus was doing his best to keep them back. If this could be solved peacefully Leon wanted it to be. "Just leave, wolf. She's not here any longer." Indecision flashed across Cloud's face. If Naminé was with the bears it was worth fighting his way through. If she wasn't he'd be risking his pack for nothing. And being so outnumbered… It was foolish to the extreme if there was nothing to gain. But Leon could see how badly Cloud wanted Naminé back. If it had been Tidus kept by the wolves Leon wouldn't have even taken a moment to talk. Tidus was the last family member he had left. Funny. That was thanks to wolves.

"If she isn't here then tell me where she is."

"Probably in the mountains. The ones across your little forest where the phoenixes used to rule from."

"And how did she get there? We would have seen her if she had gone through the forest."

"A dragon came and took her away."

A roar from the forest was all of the warning Leon got before a small borwn wolf leapt from his forest cover. Wrenching his sword up he caught one of the paws of the wolf before it landed. Turning in midair as he fell the wolf slashed out at him, a claw ripping across the bridge of his nose. Hissing in pain Leon rounded on the wolf before he could gather his feet beneath him again. A quick slash across his throat had the light dying from those brown eyes. _Damn it_. Couldn't they have just dealt with this calmly?

Giving up on peaceful talk Leon raised his sword. Already Cloud was back to his wolf form, muscles ripping under his golden coat with each movement as he strode towards Leon. He was by far the largest wolf Leon had seen so far. Again Leon found himself wishing Axel was there so he could fight as a bear. As it was he wouldn't stand a chance against Cloud.

The roar of bears mingled with the angry howl of wolves. Another three wolves came streaking from the forest as well as a small lion. Faster than fleeing deer, Leon barely had time to raise his sword again before Cloud had pounced on him. Using the flat of his sword to keep the wolf at a distance Leon struggled to avoid the snapping jaws and ripping claws that tried to reach him. Claws sunk deep into his shoulder making Leon grit his teeth. Turning his blade he felt the edge sink into Cloud's chest. Scrambling away from Leon, Cloud circled around waiting for him to get back on his own feet. A deep growl of agony told Leon one of his bears was defeated by a wolf. A howl just a short bit later said the bears had gotten back at the wolf.

"Do not kill them!" he shouted as loudly as he could, not once taking his eyes off of Cloud still circling around him. "Subdue them only!"

Again Cloud lunged at him. Rolling to the side Leon managed to just barely miss his reaching claws. He watched the lion being tackled to the ground with teeth at its neck to try to keep it subdued. Leon didn't have the time to see if that worked. Claws ripped into his back sending him face first into the ground. Dirt sprayed into his face making him shut his eyes. The weight of the wolf kept him from getting his arms under him. Hot breath blew his hair from his neck. Saliva from exertion dripped from Cloud's muzzle. That was almost ass annoying as the fact the wolf had bested him.

_What happened to Naminé?_ Cloud's voice was an angry roar in his mind. He could feel Cloud trying to breach the mental barrier all animals had so he could see for himself what had happened to her. But memories of Naminé were his. He didn't want to wolf to see his small soft spot for the deceased wolf. He didn't want to share those few minutes of joy or let Cloud know just how guilty he felt for what happened to her.

His mind was his own.

Again his skin was ripped into but this time it was as the claws that had been dug into his back were torn out. Feeling the hot blood running from his wounds, smelling the hot scent… He wanted to taste blood. Scrambling to his feet he watched Tidus wrestle with Cloud. As a bear Tidus was doing far better than Leon had been. Tidus had the abnormal size and strength even if he lacked experience in any real fight. He was able to force Cloud to submit just long enough for two other bears scrambled over to use their added weight to pinning the wolf down. Tidus' claws were digging into the wolf's throat, another bear's claws pressed into Cloud's shoulder to keep him against the ground and the last all but sitting on the wolf's twisted backside. If his own back hadn't been gushing blood or spasming in pain Leon might've felt bad for Cloud. Maybe.

Scanning the area Leon grunted in approval. He'd lost one bear to the damned wolves; Zack, a large black bear. Leon was surprised by that. Zack was older than Leon and had far more fighting experience. Maybe just one of those unlucky moments. But he'd mourn the loss later. As for the wolves, the one he had killed still lay with its brown eyes wide and unseeing but the lion seemed to be dead as well. At least he hoped it was if none of his bears were watching it. Two of the other wolves were submitting gracefully to their captors while Cloud and one other continued to fight. Leon couldn't help but smile at the other wolf. She had the same colored coat as Naminé.

"_Then there's my brother and sister Demyx and Larxene. They're twins. Demyx is always joking and laughing while Larxene… Well, Larxene is Larxene. There's not much to really say that can describe her. But you'd know her if you met her. She's a real wolf."_ Naminé had been so right. Larxene didn't seem to care much that every time she struggled claws were pressed deeper into her pelt. The fact that blood was freely flowing from multiple wounds didn't diminish her energy at all. From where he stood he couldn't see her eyes or face but he knew she had the same fire in her that Naminé had. She was a real wolf. She and Cloud both.

Was this what Axel felt when he found someone to add to his collection? Was the same possessiveness shinning in his eyes? He wanted the animals. He wanted to keep them around as a reminder. Did Axel keep him as a reminder as well? As a warning to all what happened when you went against nature?

It wasn't important. All that was significant was convincing Axel to let them live.

It was fully dark around them now. Unsure of exactly how much time had passed Leon was just hoping that Axel would arrive as soon as the sun was on the horizon. "Keep them subdued," he said as strongly as he could. Having his back shredded was not a reason to be a weak leader. "We'll let Axel decide what to do with them." He could sense the dissent among a few bears but his word was law. Even before Axel had taken him as part of his ever growing collection, Leon had ruled these bears. Eyes flickering to Cloud he watched as the struggles of the wolf lessened. "And make sure Cloud doesn't get away. I feel he'll try to escape more than once before the sun rises."

Ignoring the angry snarl at his back Leon headed back to the camp and his tent. He needed to stop the bleeding before it got worse. He'd heal faster as a bear but he could just ask Axel for help to. Just a small jolt of magic and he'd be set. In pain for a few days, of course, but no lasting damage. 'Til then human ways would have to suffice. Inside his tent he had a chest full of linen wraps and a poultice he could use until the sun rose and Axel came. Leon cringed as he removed his shirt and his muscles bunched and stretched and tore further. His skin felt numb but the muscles were on fire. Removing the stopper from the jar he poured all of the thick liquid dressing into his hands and tried to slather as much of his back as he could with just a little to stop the bleeding across his nose. It stung the deep cuts but the pain was refreshing. With his back as coated as he could get it on his own Leon took a long linen wrap and bound his wounds. Messy and loose but it'd do.

Grabbing a new shirt from the ground at the foot of his bed Leon strode back out. He felt stiff now. It was upsetting. Some of the bears had already traded watch on the wolves. Larxene was still snapping whenever someone moved just a hair closer. The other two wolves were sitting there calmly like they weren't being sat one by bears. .And Cloud… Well Leon wished he hadn't just left his sword in his tent. As still as he sat Leon was sure he was just gathering strength for a moment when the bears let up and he could rip out their throats. At least Tidus was still there. If Leon trusted anyone to watch the wolf it was Tidus.

Seating himself down a good distance from all of the wolves Leon was ready to wait until Axel came. As the moon crept across the sky bears came to relieve the others from their duty. More than once Cloud almost got away as they shifted positions and four bears left bleeding from getting a bit too close to Larxene's mouth. It was a long night that Leon was glad to see go with the rays of the sun. He turned his gaze to the mountains to wait for the black speck in the sky that would announce the arrival of Riku and Axel.

_The bastard is late_. Leon growled. He was tired, in pain and holding four wolves captive with a dead lion still in his midst. Axel being late was not making him pleased.

With the sun fairly high Leon finally caught sight of a speck in the sky. Faster than any bird Riku flew into clear view. Axel was hard to see from the ground but Leon caught a glimpse of hair as red as fire. Right near them Riku landed heavily. Sliding from the silver scales Axel seemed completely unconcerned that he was late. In fact, he looked mildly annoyed that he had even come. _Bastard._

"You're late," Leon snapped without getting up.

"And you just got four new little pets. So we're all full of surprises." A small pain shot through his head. It was like hearing a painfully high note from far off, just catching the faintest sound as it drifted away. None of the bears seemed to hear it, nor did the bears as humans. But the wolves were all suddenly howling in pain, ears flattened as if they could block out the sound. Shaking his head to rid it of the ringing sound Leon glared at Axel until the man looked back at him then looked away. "Stop. I was busy. I added a wolf to my collection." For a second Leon's heart skipped a beat. A wolf? Had Axel seen something in her after all? "He's the brother to that she-wolf you found."

"What happened to the she-wolf?" He tried to sound uncaring. He really had no reason to care when he knew what had happened to her the second he had let her go with Axel. When he had told her to go with him.

"I'm not in the mood to deal with stupid questions, Leon." Why was he so grumpy? If his new addition was so stressful Leon couldn't understand why Axel was interested in him.

"It would be more stupid if that she-wolf's brother and sister weren't here. So which brother did you get? Demyx? I have his twin here. Or Roxas? The she-wolf's twin? It can't be Cloud. I have him here." Damn. He sounded rude. He didn't mean to, but he was pissed. And in pain. He'd just say it was the pain.

For all he expected Axel to snap back at him he was surprised when the red-head looked happy all of the sudden. It was like Leon had just given him the solution to a difficult problem. "Do you have any humans?" Leon shook his head. Now Axel wanted humans? How were the dragons going to take that? Just because Axel was older than all of them combined didn't mean he could go against their 'Kill-All-Humans' mandate. He didn't have that sort of power anymore. He shouldn't at least. "Damn. Hey Riku? Do me a favor? Can you go grab a human or two from the forest? We passed their little village. Sora needs a human friend, doesn't he?" A little laugh bubbled from Axel's lips.

Whatever was going on, Leon wasn't sure he wanted to be a part of it. Not if Axel was going crazy.

With a pleased rumble Riku took off into the forest. Who was Sora? Naminé had never gotten around to mentioning him. Was he the one human that made her eyes light up? And why was Riku, of all creatures, rushing off to help him? In just a quarter of the moons turn since Naminé had come around Axel had completely changed. And it had just been a few days since Axel had been here last either. These wolves were something else.

"So who are these other wolves? Can you bring them back across the mountains? Or will I have to come back and get them?"

"I'd like to bring them with me." Deep breath. "Actually, I was hoping you'd take this band off of me and teach me the trick behind it so I could start my own collection of sorts."

That got Axel's interest away from himself. Cocking his head he studied Leon. "We've gone over why I can't do that. But why do you need a collection? Isn't being in mine enough?"

"I want the wolves from the main line of the pack. They interest me."

"Then maybe a compromise." There was a wicked gleam in his eyes. Leon didn't like it one bit. "See, I need those wolfs back at the keep in good shape. If these are his pack mates my new pet might drop the attitude for a bit. So, you get them back and then we'll see about a collection of your own."

"I need this done now Axel," said Leon as firmly as he could. "I can get them back as humans but as wolves… Well, you want them healthy, right?" Axel's brow furrowed in thought. How important was it to him to keep this secret of his? How much did he trust Leon? The bear could see all of his thoughts glimmering in his eyes. He'd been with Axel long enough to know how to get what he wanted. Or close to it.

"I'll collar them," Axel finally said. "Even if I showed you, you wouldn't be able to hold more than one on your own. But I want them back at the castle as soon as possible."

"As always, it'll be my pleasure."

"It's never your pleasure."

"I can pretend."

It wasn't what he wanted but it was close. Watching Axel go up to each wolf individually he tried to see where the secret lay. But if he was being honest with himself, Leon knew he'd never be able to do what Axel was doing. With a touch each wolf was forced into their human form and from nowhere Axel produced the same thin black strip of leather that Leon wore and fastened it with a bit of magic around the wolves' necks. It was scary just how powerful Axel was. But Leon couldn't help but be grateful Axel had included him in his collection. Standing up Leon wiped dirt from his clothes.

"Axel…" As the redhead came back Leon reached out to him. His hand brushed against Axel's in an subtle, intimate way he hadn't done for months, not since before Axel sent him away to try to deal with their wolf problem. But there was no return of the affection. Axel was still too distracted by this new wolf of his.

Leon didn't mind. This was an ongoing cycle for them. He was the first of Axel's collection and he knew exactly why Axel collected them. Like the dragons he was friends with, Axel was old enough he was bored with most things leaving sex one of the main things on his mind. Dragons did it because it was in their nature to fornicate with other dragons as often as possible to try to continue their species. All animals possessing magic did it as humans because it was it was fun and felt good. Axel collected them all because each one was a new infatuation of his. If this new wolf was going to be the center of his attention for a while then Leon was allowed to find his own plaything for a bit. At least until Axel got bored again and Leon was the center of his attention yet again.

"Give me a full turn of the moon and we'll be back with your wolves."

Axel nodded, eyes already distant in thought of whoever it was he was missing. Hell, Leon could understand. If this was Naminé's twin and he had half as much appeal as Naminé did Leon could understand. He still couldn't stop thinking about her. He could just hope Cloud and Larxene could make him feel as alive as she did.

A loud roar had Leon glancing up at the sky and then back at Axel. The dragon had returned with two humans trapped delicately in his claws and Axel looked like Xion was back from the dead. The mischievous joy on his face was scary. Axel and Zion together had never been good. The other dragons did their best to keep them separate. Any time those two got together forests ended up ablaze or mountains melted down for fun. Leon almost felt sorry for these humans. Whatever plans Axel had for them couldn't be good for their health.

"Well I'll be going then. I'll even take one of those wolves." For a moment Leon felt panicked that he might mean to take Larxene or Cloud. But his attention quickly turned towards one of the wolves with brown eyes. "You there," said Axel to the two bears continuing to hold down one of the now human wolves. "Let him up. He's coming with me. Come here wolf." Like an obedient dog the wolf came over without even a snarl. He might as well have his tail between his legs. "What's your name?"

"Hayner," said the wolf in a quiet voice. His blond hair was darker than Naminé's and his eyes the color of bark.

"Well Hayner, you're going to come with me and Riku. So be a good dog and climb up on Riku's back and we won't kill you." A spark of anger glowed in the wolf's eyes but he did as told. Turning back to Leon Axel smiled. "Then I'll see you soon. Hurry back. I've got plans for you."

Scary. Axel was scary. Leon could deal with the dragon's making their return to power but Axel… Well, Leon never wanted Axel's brother to return. Screw the dragon's return to power. Bored, temperamental phoenixes would probably mean his death.

"Wait, Axel. I need you to fix me. The wolf got in a good swipe since I was stuck as a human."

Axel smirked but continued to climb onto Riku's back. "You look good with scars. I'll let those ones stay."

"Asshole!" Leon yelled up at him as they took off. Screw what Axel wanted. He didn't want the scars. Especially not the one across his face. Not when the one who gave it to him could look at it for the next month.

Growling in frustration Leon turned back to the bears holding their new prisoners. "Get rope and tie them up. I don't want them escaping while we take them home. His eyes fell on Cloud again. The fury in those eyes, the snarl on his lips… Leon was not looking forward to the trip home.


	7. In For the Kill

**~Chapter 7 - In For the Kill ~ **

Guess what! I'm back! No one wants to hear the reason it's taken me so long to come back, but here I am! Thank you for your patience and in gratitude here's chapter 7!

* * *

><p><strong>Roxas<strong>

* * *

><p>He was clean. Every inch of his skin had been scrubbed. Axel had all but climbed into the bath to make sure Roxas got himself clean after the night of hell he had been put through. But that was the first time since the afternoon before that Axel had touched him. The first time since Axel had decided to teach him about mating. Roxas could still taste the coppery blood from where he'd gotten a solid bite on Axel's hand.<p>

Curling up on the rug he tugged again at the chain that had been locked around his ankle. If he could use even a tiny bit of his magic he'd have been able to break it without a problem. As it was he was too weak physically to do more than glare at it. The only thing that had kept him going until now was how much he hated Axel. He hated his scent. He hated the little smirk that played on his lips as if watching Roxas struggle against him was amusing. He hated how helpless Axel was making him.

All night invisible hands had held Roxas down on the bed. Axel laughed to himself over something about not leaving any more marks on Roxas' skin. He would've thought maybe Axel had grown a drop of compassion if he wasn't so horribly sure Sora had tried to confront the red head. The look on Sora's face when he had come in to see Roxas right after Axel's lesson was horrific. And if Roxas looked half as bad as he had felt at the time he would've had the same expression. But he didn't need Sora trying to protect him. He wanted Sora to lay low and just survive until Roxas could figure a way out for them.

Instead of pain more invisible hands traced over every inch of his skin. Even where his back was firmly pressed against the sheets he could feel their touch. Gently they passed over his skin again and again until Roxas was panting at the sensation. Every bit of his skin felt delicate. Electrical. Between his legs his member was slowly stirring to life. Magical animals hit puberty later in life so he'd never really felt any need for release down there before. Only once had _that_ ever reacted before. But as he lay stretched out he couldn't stop it. It reacted to the gentle ministrations of the touches. Fire pooled in the pit of his stomach, slowly spreading throughout his limbs until he was burning up. Sweat gathered on every surface of his body. He could smell the _need_ coming off of his own body. Axel watched all of it with that smirk.

"I swear I'm going to kill you," Roxas growled as best he could. His voice was breathy and weak but he tried to sound threatening. Not a single sound passed through Axel's lips. One of those invisible hands wrapped itself around Roxas' member making him gasp. Snarling he tried to pull away but the hands held fast. He hated feeling so vulnerable. He hated the feeling sweeping through his body. He wanted to be free. He wanted to shake off the hands. He wanted release. The hand on him moved steadily up and down his shaft. A wave of pleasure crashed over him. Never before had he felt like this. Never had his senses been stimulated in such a way. Growling was the only noise he let himself make. He wouldn't yell out. He wouldn't say anything. Soon the heat exploded from him. White strands shot from his erection to fall scattered across his stomach and chest.

Panting heavily he tried to free himself again. This was something private. This was something he didn't want Axel watching. Axel had seen him at his most vulnerable now. It was almost worse than being stuck as a human. Still he was kept on the bed. Pulling as hard as he could he hear his joints pop and creak but couldn't free himself. His futile struggles seemed to amuse Axel for a few minutes. Roxas was left alone to try to free himself. But as the smirk slowly dropped to a bored frown the hands were back. His skin felt even more sensitive than before. Whimpering now Roxas bit his lip until he tasted blood. It felt good. Amazing.

"I hate you," Roxas growled out. "You're a disgusting monster." Light touches on his member had it slowly filling back up. His nipples, which had gone unmolested, were slowly toyed with. Invisible fingers rolled them gently before pinching them. It was maddening. Roxas had never known them to be so sensitive before. Soon they were bright red nubs of pure bliss. Every time the ghost fingers brushed those Roxas couldn't help but gasp. His member was brought back to life and treated in the same fashion as before. As the heat came back into his body he howled in frustration. It was too much. All of the sensations were more amazing than words could describe but it was all too much. With each passing second he could feel his mind slipping away. Bliss replaced thoughts and movement became painful in how sensitive his skin was. Each breath in his lungs was a fire of sensation. He just wanted to be done with this. He'd give up the pleasure if it would get rid of the pain as well.

As the seconds passed the pleasure became pain. Emotions of every sort crossed through him. Thoughts were nonexistent now. He could only feel. Howls and yelps left his lips in a constant stream. He didn't have the energy to try to stay silent. He couldn't even control himself enough to keep the whimpers and whines of pleasure and pain from escaping. He wanted an end. He wanted to come to the same blissful release as before. If Axel wouldn't do that for him then he at least wanted the feeling of being touched all over to stop.

Member weeping clear beads of liquid, Roxas felt matching tears slowly gathering in his eyes. This was becoming too much to handle. A soothing voice in his mind murmured sweet, calming words. _So brave. So strong. You don't give up. It's impressive. But would it be so bad to just bend once? Just ask nicely and you could be free. Just a little 'please' and it'll be over. _Roxas could barely even tell the voice belonged to Axel. His tone was soft like Roxas was a delicate child. It was coaxing Roxas to bend not forcing him. A compromise really. Axel could be kind if Roxas could. The message was so clear and yet he couldn't. Every part of him was writhing in painful pleasure but he couldn't bring himself to submit anymore. He was already being forced down. To yield anymore would be losing the battle of wills.

Fat tears rolled down his cheeks. "Get out of my head!" he yelled. For the first time all night his voice sounded firm. The voice continued muttering its sweet persuasions. All night Roxas was kept in the limbo between pain and delicious release. After a while he couldn't even think. Only feeling remained to him. The only thing keeping him from crying out and begging for some relief from the torture was the voice constantly in his mind. It reminded him he wasn't alone. If just for one second he had felt truly alone he would've been begging for anyone to help him. But Axel was there and he couldn't bend his will for Axel. Not for him. Never.

When the dawn rolled around Axel finally let him reach a blissful release. The power of his orgasm completely silenced him. It ended his pain and made him even forget about the voice still ringing in his ears. He didn't even realize he was free until Axel had him in his arms and was placing him in the wash tub. "Don't touch me," Roxas growled weakly. His struggled were futile in his weakened state. As Axel cleaned him up he tried pushing his hands away. When Axel was satisfied he was clean enough he let Roxas push himself from the tub. Almost tripping over his own feet he stumbled back to the main room. Trying to make his way to the door he felt strong arms wrap around him.

"Not that way pup," Axel said with a laugh. Picking him up he ignored Roxas' weak struggles and set him down on the edge of the bed. Fastening the chain around his ankle he smiled at Roxas. "Stay here until I get back. I'm already running late. But be a good boy and I'll have Zexion bring you food."

Roxas was too tired to protest anymore. "I hate you," was all he could get out. He desperately wanted to sleep. So when Axel left and he curled up on the rug he managed to pass out right away. Awake for over a day let him sleep dreamlessly. A small blessing, but one he didn't take for granted. He didn't want to remember any of the events in his sleep; he was already afraid he'd be reliving them while awake. But he wasn't even allowed to sleep for very long. A gentle nudging to his side startled him awake. His first reaction was to attack as a wolf but as he reached for his magic he was racked with pain again. As he let go of his desire to change the pain receded.

"You don't learn very fast, do you?" a voice _tutted_ at him. Taking a swipe at the toe nudging him he lunged as they stepped back. Being tethered to the bed put an end to his hopes of tearing the person limb from limb. "Is all of your pack this slow or were you just the runt of the litter?" Not as tall as Axel the man had hair the color of stone. The shaggy way it fell over half of his face made Sora even more uneasy around him. He didn't like not being able to see clearly into the man's eyes. Sniffing he hoped to pick up some scent from the man to let him know exactly what sort of beast he was but his human nose was too weak. The only clear thing he knew was that whoever it was he wore the same leather band as Roxas but was allowed to walk free around the castle.

"And who are you? Some _pet_?"

Not rising to the taunt the man went back to the door. "I've left dog food for you on the table by the window. I hope your leash is long enough for you to reach."

"_Be a good boy and I'll have Zexion bring you food."_ Remembering Axel's words he snarled. Zexion was almost as bad as Axel. Maybe that's why he was allowed to roam free. As the door shut behind him Roxas darted for the food. A few scraps of raw meat and more that was cooked rested on a small platter. His fingers were just barely able to reach the edge of it to pull it close enough to eat from. The cooked meat was barely bloody enough to satisfy him but the raw stuff helped set him at ease. But even after the food he was barely full. His belly didn't like not being able to eat as much as he wanted, ripping into a still warm carcass, blood dripping down his muzzle. Wolves were not meant to be kept as pets.

Trying to curl up and go back to sleep Roxas nestled back down. Yet for as tired as he was he couldn't get back to sleep. His mind was racing now. Who knew when Axel would be back. If he was going to escape now would be the time. But chained as he was he couldn't even make it out of the room. And even if he did there were probably all sorts of animals roaming the halls. If he could become a wolf he would at least have a chance. Or if he could at least get some of his senses back… The dragons he had seen could change just a part of themselves. They had wings whenever they wanted. If he could do that, just change his eyes or his ears he might be able to compensate for his weak human body. But how? His magic was completely trapped as it was. And if he knew himself well enough he could maybe last until the moon came up tomorrow before he snapped and had to change. What would happen to him then?

Turning into himself he tried to find his magic. Not use it, just locate it. It was something all juveniles learned before they could even begin to control their magic. His was like an inner sun. It filled him with warmth and its light lit every corner of his being. Even before his eyes the great ball of energy was shrinking. And there, right inside the perimeter of the globe, was a darker ring of red, shrinking right along with it. If he drew on his magic it would hit the darker ring causing the pain. But there had to be some weak point. Everything had a weak point. Searching it over and over he watched it shrink even as he found nothing. Frustrated he withdrew from inside himself.

This was stupid. Kill Axel. That's what he needed to do. That would solve all of his problems. But the sun set and the man still hadn't returned. Finally Roxas fell into a fitful yet blessedly dreamless sleep again. When he woke the sun was already shedding light through the window. His stomach told him it needed food but he didn't see anyone around. No one had come in to leave some for him. How inconsiderate.

He spent the rest of the day between struggling against the chain and watching his magic dwindle to nothing. The skin around his ankle was rubbed raw and his temper was at the breaking point. Panic had begun to set in. Fear of pain wasn't something he was used to. Yet the past two days had been filled with nothing but pain and fear with a splash of anger.

Grabbing at the band around his neck he tried pulling at it. His nails scratched at his skin. The blisters on the side popped into a bloody mess. He ripped more skin off. His panic made him reckless. As much as it hurt to rip into his own flesh he was more afraid of the pain of the collar. The scent of fresh blood did nothing to help his control. Every one of his instincts told him to find his pack. They would help him. He needed them. But he couldn't. He was trapped. When the leather became too slick to even grasp onto anymore he went back to pulling at the chain. His hands slipped from the blood on them. More than once his skin was pinched between the links of the chain. Hands completely red and burning he gave up. Pointless. It was all pointless. He should've been saving up his energy to deal with the pain. He should've just let the dragon Xemnas go and not tried to stop him in his own useless way.

From the hallway he heard voices. Standing up he got as close to the door as he could. "Let me out!" he called desperately. "Get me out of here!" The voices continued talking right outside the door. "Just help me!"

When the door opened Roxas wasn't sure whether to curse and plead. There stood Axel and Zexion, staring at him like he had grown a second head. Axel composed himself first. "Go get something to bandage him up. Bring one of the humans that were rounded up. They might be able to help keep him under control."

"Control? I think you broke him already," Zexion retorted but left none the less. Axel came up to Roxas leaving the door open behind him.

"Now what have you done?" the red head asked looking Roxas over. The blond was torn between asking for help again and snarling at the man who had put him in this position in the first place. Opting to just say nothing he let Axel examine his neck without touching him. "Was there a reason for doing this to yourself?"

"I –" Roxas couldn't find a way to not snarl at him. He hated Axel. Hated. But he needed to man to keep him from the pain eh was sure would be coming. "My magic… It's almost gone. I won't be able to not change back." Roxas tried to explain as calmly as he could. His control was slipping, though it was more from the million emotions rushing through him than his magic dying out. He still had some time left.

"You think I'd put my collection in pointless pain for nothing?" sighed Axel running his hand through his hair. Roxas stared, not comprehending. "Your magic will run out but mine will keep you from changing. You'll be fine." He sighed again. "Mostly."

"Fine? Pointless pain?" As Roxas began to understand that he wasn't in any immediate danger of pain he let go of his fear of the man in front of him. Anger, hot and true, made every inch of Roxas heat up. He'd panicked over nothing because Axel couldn't take two seconds to tell him there wouldn't be unimaginable, unending pain when his magic left him. "You've put me through 'pointless pain' already! Fine would be before you ever touched me! You're a selfish, pig-headed beast! What kind of compassionless monster does this to another animal? Let me out and I'll rip out your guts before feeding your carcass to my pack. Maybe then you can do some good!" Trying to reach Axel he lunged as far as the chain would let him. His bloodied hand managed to get within a few inches of Axel's face. Still not close enough. He should've chewed off his foot.

"So much for broken," Axel muttered still looking over Roxas. He acted like he hadn't even heard anything Roxas had said.

"And what do you mean 'collection'? I'm not an acorn you can stuff in a tree until it's time to eat. I won't be kept as a pet!"

"Did you just compare me to a squirrel?" For the first time Axel looked a bit shocked if not offended. But when that wore off he just laughed, fueling Roxas' anger. "Who needs a pet when I have my own Fool? I might as well form my own court for real now!"

"Don't taunt him more Axel," Zexion said from the doorway. "He might actually do real damage to himself." The friendly tone he'd had with Axel, the sarcastic tone he had with Roxas, neither was there as he entered the room with an armful of bandages. Behind him a boy shuffled into the room. Even Roxas could smell the fear with his pathetic human nose.

"Pence?"

"Roxas?" Rushing past Zexion Pence came up to hug Roxas. "You're still okay? What happened? Where's the pack? Where's Naminé?"

Wrapping his arms protectively around Pence Roxas backed both of them away from the others. Pence was here. Maybe some of the others were here now too. _More people to protect. _Growling low in his throat he tried to put himself between Pence and the others. "You will not hurt him," he declared as if he could actually do something about it. "He's innocent in all of this."

"I had no intention of hurting him," said Axel in a placating voice completely at odds with the look on his face. He looked like he would've burned Pence alive if it suited him. "Riku and I just thought you might want some friends around."

Friend. No. Pence being here was not only dangerous for him but for Roxas as well. He couldn't have him here. He couldn't protect anyone else. He already had to get Sora out. Now there was Pence. But Axel had said _friends_. How many more people was Roxas supposed to think of now?

"I don't need any friends," Roxas growled at him. "Let the humans go home."

"If you think they can find their way home by themselves then fine. They can go." Remembering how long the flight took just from the mountain to here made Roxas grit his teeth. Not only could the humans not find their way back, but even if they found the right mountain they'd still have to climb over it and defend themselves from whatever beasts inhabited the land. "Or…" The playful tone had Roxas sullenly looking up at him. "You can play a game with me."

"What sort of game?" It didn't take any time for Roxas to know what he had to do. He had to protect the humans. All of them. He _had_ to.

"Zexion, take Pence away. Find him a room near Sora's and the other's." Still acting strangely, Zexion didn't make any snarky comments. He just nodded and came over to Roxas to take Pence away from him. The way he seemed to just assume Roxas would let him irritated Roxas. But Zexion was right. Roxas wouldn't do anything to put Pence in danger. But the fear in Pence's eyes made it so hard for Roxas to stand still.

"It'll be okay Pence. I'll get you home." And there it was, the trust behind all of the panic that made Roxas realize how right he was to do this. Pence and the others relied on him so fully. The fact that they were even in this situation made Roxas feel like he had already failed them. Then the door was shut between them leaving Roxas alone with Axel once more. "So what's this game?"

Like a predator realizing his prey was about to die so he could feast Axel settled himself down in a chair to study Roxas. Arms relaxed on the arms of the chair, his head tilted back slightly, regarding Roxas through silted eyes. "I really couldn't care less about the humans or wolf I brought here. To be honest they're more trouble than their worth. But Sora needs human friends and I need you to learn your place." Clearly, Axel wanted a good pet, not a wolf. "Normally, I'd take the time to train you myself, but I'm busy." _Too busy to deal with you_. "So we'll make this a game."

"Just tell me what you want." Closing his eyes Axel looked like he had all the time in the world, like he wasn't toying with people's lives. "Answer me!"

"Patience." For a long few moments Axel continued to look like he was going to sleep. When he had finally finished resting or thinking or whatever he was doing his eyes opened up back into slits. "Roxas, you're in my collection. I simply want your complete surrender to me." For once Roxas couldn't think of anything to say. What could he say to that? "So every time you show me that you can follow my orders, every time you obey me without question, every time you surrender yourself to me, I'll free one of your friends."

Surrender? Never. He couldn't. It went against everything he felt. Every part of him rebelled. He was a wolf. He was meant to be wild and free. But he was also supposed to protect those humans. Even if his father said to choose the pack over the humans, Roxas was without his pack. The only ones Roxas had here were the humans. And even if they were only human, they were his friends. He had to get them out of here. But was there only this way?

"I'm not surrendering to you. Screw all of you dragons."

"Not a good way to start Roxas." Axel's eyes fell shut again but his lips curled up into a small smile.

"Then let me do something else," Roxas pleaded. That was as close as he would get to surrendering. He didn't want to surrender, even for his friends. "This isn't a game. This is you forcing me to do something. Surrender has to be willing, not forced." _Please don't make me do this for them. _He couldn't say it out loud. "And even if I did do what you wanted, they can't go home alone. They won't make it."

Another long pause. Axel probably hadn't bothered considering the human's in his plan beyond their use to him. "Then let's make it more of a game." Sitting up suddenly, eyes wide open, Axel smiled at Roxas. "If you win, you go free and can take your little humans home. I'll even send along someone else to keep you all safe."

"What do I have to do then?"

"Help everyone out. Learn how we live around here. Be part of my collection. Keep that rebelliousness."

Now he wanted Roxas to stay the same? What was he getting at? Roxas was confused in the worst sort of way. He wanted to rip off Axel's face just to make himself feel better. Tugging on the chain around his ankle Roxas couldn't help but hope Axel had freed him just for kicks and giggles. It would have made reach Axel much easier.

"Fine," he finally snarled. "But what if you win?"

"Then you're in my collection permanently," said Axel with a shrug as he sat back in his chair again. A _clank_ had the chain around Roxas' ankle falling away. The skin there was an angry red. Not as angry as Roxas felt though. But he held himself back. So far the only times he'd been free was to be abused on the bed. He was afraid that if he tried to attack Axel like he wanted the man would put him through that again.

Instead of doing what his instinct said he instead stepped back until he was against the wall next to the bed. Best of all he was close to the window. If he really needed to he'd jump out the window and hope he didn't break any bones. Hopefully he didn't end up with a broken leg like Naminé had from just falling down a pit. This window did seem a bit higher…

"Then what do I do first?"

"Start acting like a human," said Axel. "Put on clothes for one. Humans wear clothes."

Honestly, Roxas was baffled. So far, the only interaction Roxas had really had with the man had needed Roxas to be naked. Now he wanted him in clothes? And acting human? Axel had taught him, very painfully, how animals mated. There was nothing human about that. According to his brothers mating as humans, sex as they called it, was supposed to be fun and feel good. Neither of them had mentioned the pain it caused. But they also mated with females who were meant to be on the bottom.

"And where do I get these clothes?"

"Go check the wardrobe." Axel's eyes were fastened on him as he slowly pushed away from the wall. The wardrobe meant he'd have to pass past Axel. Of course he could go around him but he couldn't show Axel just how scared he was. Handing Axel all of that power was not a good idea. So Roxas passed by him without even looking at him. He tried to ignore the fluttering in his gut that look gave him.

Opening the wardrobe he caught a whiff of Axel. It was spicy and hot and earthy. It was something so… Axel, Roxas wrinkled his nose at it. He was not a fan of it. Staring at all of the clothes folded or hanging he noticed two things. The first that thought there weren't many clothes but there were mostly black leathers. The second was that there was nothing that didn't smell like Axel. Picking through the clothes one by one he tried to find something he could actually wear.

"None of these will fit me," Roxas told Axel without looking at him.

"I know. I'll find clothes to actually fit you later. For now just find something."

Grabbing one of the few non-leather tunics he had pulled out he threw it on. Axel's scent completely engulfed him. The shirt fell almost to his knees. He also grabbed trousers but there was no way they would fit him. Axel was skinny, but he was still larger than Roxas. Not bothering to put anything back he turned back around to face Axel. "Good enough?"

"Come here." Axel's tone was serious, his eyes hungry. He almost seemed to want Roxas more now that he had something to cover him. Slowly as he could Roxas went to stand in front of Axel. He really didn't want to act afraid but he was. He wanted to run. He wanted to stay as far away as he could. But he still ended up in front of Axel. _For the humans_, he told himself.

Surprisingly enough, Axel did nothing but look at him with those hungry eyes. No other part of his body moved as he studied Roxas. Each muscle was tensed and solid like stone. But his eyes were alive. That look sent shivers up Roxas' spine. But it wasn't uncomfortable like the clenching of his stomach. This sensation was like fire was warming him up. He couldn't even understand the feeling. What he did know was that it made him want to bolt again.

"If you're comfortable enough like that, then fine. You have the run of the castle. You can stay here or go out and find people to help. I know Kairi will have plenty for you to do. But when they give me the okay I'll set one of those humans free. And when they're all free you can go take them home. Got it memorized?"


End file.
